Benefits for people who are State Pension age

You may qualify for a State Pension if you are over State Pension age. The State Pension age for men and women is now the same and will increase to the age of 68.  You can check when you will reach State Pension age by using the State Pension age calculator on GOV.UK.

There are 2 State Pension schemes and which one you may qualify for depends on your date of birth:

• Basic State Pension - men born before 6 April 1951 or women born before 6 April 1953

• New State Pension - men born on or after 6 April 1951 or women born on or after 6 April 1953

You need to make a claim for a State Pension, it is not paid automatically.

The Pension Service should write to you to invite you to claim a few months before you reach your State Pension age.

If you have not received an invitation you can find out how to claim State Pension on GOV.UK.

You may qualify for Pension Credit if you (and your partner if you have one) are over State Pension age and you are on a low income. There is no capital limit but some income from capital will be taken into account if you have savings of more than £10,000.

You do not have to have paid national insurance contributions to qualify. You can work whilst claiming Pension Credit but most of your earnings will be taken into account when calculating your entitlement.

Pension Credit is not taxable and an award may help you qualify for other benefits.

If you are part of a couple but your partner is in a care home, nursing home or hospital and this will likely be the case for more than 52 weeks, you are not counted as a couple for benefit purposes and you need to claim as a single person.

Pension credit is made up of 2 parts: Guarantee Pension Credit and Savings Pension Credit.

Guarantee Pension Credit is means-tested, which means that your (and your partner if you have one) income and capital is taken into account when calculating your entitlement. You may qualify for more if you are a carer, severely disabled, responsible for a child or young person or you have certain housing costs.

New claims to Savings Pension Credit cannot be made if you reached State Pension age on or after 6 April 2016. If you reached State Pension age before this date, you can find further information on Savings Pension Credit on GOV.UK.

You can check your entitlement to Pension Credit on the Pension Credit calculator on GOV.UK.

Carers

The additional amount for a carer can be included if you or your partner:

• receive Carer’s Allowance, or

• have claimed Carer’s Allowance and fulfil the conditions for it but cannot be paid it as you get State Pension or another benefit instead. In this

case you have an ‘underlying entitlement’ to Carer’s Allowance.

If you and your partner both qualify for the carer addition, the higher (couple) rate is included. If only one of you is a carer the single rate is included.

NB: Where Carer’s Allowance is being paid, the person you care for might lose their severe disability premium/addition, which may be worth more than the carer addition. If you are not sure whether to claim Carer’s Allowance, please seek advice first.

Mixed age couples

From 14 May 2019 mixed age couples (where one of you is under State Pension age) can no longer claim Pension Credit.

Mixed age couples currently getting Pension Credit (claimed before 14 May 2019) can continue to receive it. But, if your circumstances change and there is a break in your Pension Credit entitlement, you cannot make a new claim for Pension Credit until you both reach State Pension age.

How to claim

You can find further information on Pension Credit on GOV.UK including qualifying criteria and how to claim.

If you (and your partner if you have one) are over State Pension age you may qualify for Housing Benefit if you:

• rent your accommodation (either form a private landlord, social landlord or local council), you are liable to pay rent and you are living in your property

• are on a low income

• do not have savings of more than £16,000 (certain savings can be ignored)

If you are entitled to Guarantee Pension Credit you will automatically qualify for your full eligible Housing Benefit.

You can check whether you qualify for housing benefit by using the independent online calculator entitledto.

Maximum Housing Benefit paid

The maximum amount of your Housing Benefit you may be paid is based on your eligible rent, which is not always the same as the amount of rent you actually pay. It will depend on whether you rent from a social landlord, local council or private landlord and your household's circumstances, including the numbers of bedrooms you have.

How to claim

Housing Benefit entitlement is calculated and paid by your district council. You can find further information on the qualifying criteria and how to claim on the GOV.UK website or you can contact your district council.

You may qualify for council tax discounts, exemptions or reductions.

Single person discount

You may be entitled to a 25% discount on your bill if you:

• are the only adult who lives in the property

• live with certain others who are disregarded for council tax purposes such as full-time students, carers, people who have a severe mental impairment, long-term hospital patients or care home residents.

Severely mentally impaired people

If you live with a person who meets both these criteria they will be disregarded for council tax purposes:

• They have a certificate from their GP confirming the condition. Most councils have an application form to be completed by the GP

• They are entitled to:

  • the middle/higher rate of the Disability Living Allowance care component

  • the daily living component of Personal Independence Payments or Armed Force Independence Payment

  • Attendance Allowance

  • the highest rate of constant Attendance Allowance

Disability Reduction Scheme

If anyone living in your property is regarded as 'substantially and permanently disabled' you could get a reduction in your Council Tax if there is:

• an additional bathroom or kitchen in the property needed for the disabled person

• a room (other than a bathroom, kitchen or toilet) needed and mainly used by the disabled person

• enough space in the property for the disabled person to use a wheelchair indoors (for example widened door frames)

The reduction would mean that your Council Tax bill would be reduced to the band below your current charge. If your property is in the lowest band already you would get a reduction of one sixth of the bill.

Council Tax Support

Each council is responsible for their own Council Tax Support scheme for residents and eligibility criteria varies, but most are based on your income and capital (means-tested). To find out more about your local scheme contact the district council which you pay your council tax to.

You may qualify for Attendance Allowance if you are over State Pension age and you have a health condition or disability which affects your ability to do day-to-day activities and you need help or supervision with your personal care. 

Your income or capital does not affect your entitlement to Attendance Allowance. An award of Attendance Allowance is disregarded as income for other benefits and it may help you qualify for benefits for the first time. It may also increase the amount of benefits you are already getting.

The purpose of an award is to help you to live independently and to meet your additional needs, you can spend it in which way that suits you best.

Eligibility

You may qualify for Attendance Allowance if all of the following apply to you:

• you are over State Pension age

• you have a health condition or disability which means you would benefit from help with personal care or supervision to keep you safe during the day and/or night. Any type of illness or disability can be considered including sight or hearing impairments or mental health issues such as dementia.

• you are not already in receipt of Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payment

• you must have had your difficulties for at least 6 months before making a claim. If you have been diagnosed with a terminal illness and your life expectancy is less than 6 months this does not apply to you.

• you must have been in the UK for 2 out of the last 3 years

Claim under special rules

If you have been diagnosed with a terminal illness and your life expectancy is less than 12 months you automatically qualify for the higher rate of Attendance Allowance.

You do not have to complete the parts on the claim form relating to your personal care needs. You will need a form SR1 form from your GP, consultant or specialist nurse to support your application. Someone else can make the application on your behalf. 

Rates of Attendance Allowance 

Attendance Allowance is paid at a lower rate and a higher rate.

You may qualify for the lower rate of Attendance Allowance if you need help or supervision throughout the day or night and the higher rate of Attendance Allowance if you need help or supervision during the day and night.

You can find the up to date Attendance Allowance rates on GOV.UK

How to claim

Attendance Allowance is paid by the Attendance Allowance Unit, part of the DWP.

Further information on the qualifying conditions, amounts paid and how to claim can be found on Attendance Allowance on GOV.UK. 

The Winter Fuel Payment is an annual, tax-free lump sum payment intended to give older people reassurance they can afford to heat their homes in winter. It is paid to people who have reached State Pension age on or before the end of the qualifying week (the week beginning the third Monday of September each year). People aged between 66 to 70 would receive £200 and those over 80 would receive £300.

Following changes introduced on 29 July 2024 now only pensioners who receive Pension Credit or other means-tested benefits in the qualifying week (16 to 22 September 2024) will qualify for the payment.

Eligibility

In addition to meeting the age requirements, a pensioner household must be entitled to at least one of the following:

• Child Tax Credit or Working Tax Credit of no less than £36 in the tax year 2024/25

• Universal Credit

• Pension Credit (Guarantee or Savings Credit)

• Income-Related Employment & Support Allowance

• Income support

• Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance

For more information see Winter Fuel Payment on GOV.UK.

Certain NHS services are free once you turn 60, such as prescriptions and NHS-funded sight tests.

You may qualify for help with other health costs if you are getting certain benefits or you are on a low income and have limited savings.

If you qualify for full or partial help with health costs you will receive a certificate which details the amount of help you will receive and the certificate will last for between 6 months and 5 years, depending on your circumstances.

Help with NHS costs if you are getting benefits

If you (and your partner if you have one) are receiving Guarantee Pension Credit you automatically qualify for:

• free NHS dental checks and treatment

• a voucher towards the cost of glasses or contact lenses

• travel costs to receive NHS treatment while under the care of a consultant and in some cases, arising from a referral by a GP or dentist

• NHS wigs and fabric supports prescribed by a hospital consultant.

Help with NHS cost if you are on a low income

If you (and your partner if you have one) are on a low income and you have capital of less than £16,000 (less than £23,250 if you are in permanent residential care) you may qualify for full or partial help with health costs, depending on your circumstances.

Full help with health costs

If you qualify for full help with health costs you will receive an HC2 certificate and anyone named on the certificate will be entitled to full help with the cost of:

• NHS prescriptions

• NHS dental treatment

• a voucher, based on their prescribed lenses, towards the cost of glasses or contact lenses

• NHS wigs and fabric supports prescribed by a hospital consultant

• travel costs for NHS treatment while under the care of a consultant and in some cases, arising from a referral by a doctor, dentist or optician

Partial help with health costs

If your income or capital is too high to qualify for full help, you may still qualify for partial help with health costs. If so, you will receive an HC3 certificate and anyone named on the certificate will be entitled to limited help towards health costs. The certificate will state how much the maximum amount is that you must pay towards any costs.

How to claim

Unless you qualify for Guarantee Pension Credit, you need to apply for help with NHS costs, regardless of whether you are receiving any other benefits or not. You can either apply online, or complete the claim form HC1, which can be ordered or downloaded from the NHS website or your local Jobcentre Plus, doctor, hospital or dentist may be able to give you a form. 

You can find more information on help with NHS costs, including qualifying conditions and how to claim, on the NHS website.

You may be entitled to help towards some of the funeral costs if you are in receipt of certain benefits. Funeral Expenses Payments are paid by the Social Fund, part of the DWP.

In most cases, a Funeral Expenses Payment will not cover the full cost of the funeral and if you receive money from the person's estate, you'll usually have to repay the Funeral Expenses Payment. A house or personal items left to a surviving spouse or civil partner are not counted as part of the estate.

To claim a Funeral Expenses Payment you (or your partner if you have one) must take responsibility for the funeral costs of a person who was resident in the UK (and it must be reasonable to do so), you must be in receipt of a qualifying benefit and you must have a specified relationship to the deceased.

To claim you must be either:

• the partner of the deceased when they died

• a close relative or close friend of the deceased

• the parent of a baby stillborn after 24 weeks of pregnancy

• the parent or person responsible for a deceased child who was under 16 (or under 20 and in approved education or training)

and you must be in receipt of one of the following:

• Income Support

• income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance

• income-related Employment and Support Allowance

• Pension Credit

• Housing Benefit

• the disability or severe disability element of Working Tax Credit

• Child Tax Credit

• Universal Credit

You can still claim Funeral Expenses Payment if you’ve applied for these benefits and you’re waiting to hear about your claim.

If there’s a close relative of the deceased who is not getting one of these benefits, you might not be able to claim Funeral Expenses Payment.

How to claim

You must apply for a Funeral Expenses Payment within 6 months of the funeral, even if you’re waiting for a decision on a qualifying benefit. You can make a claim before the funeral if you’ve got an invoice or signed contract from the funeral director. It cannot be an estimate.  If you get Universal Credit, you will not get a decision on your claim until after your next payment.

You can find more information on Funeral Expenses Payment on GOV.UK, including qualifying criteria and how to claim.