Martin Lewis urges pensioners to claim £4,000 benefit to access Winter Fuel Payments before weekend deadline
Martin Lewis is urging 700,000 people over State Pension age not to miss out on this year’s Winter Fuel Payment if they do not apply for a gateway benefit before this weekend. The consumer champion is encouraging everyone across the nation to help older family members, friends or neighbours check if they are entitled to Pension Credit and submit an application before midnight on Saturday, December 21.
However, that deadline is for online applications, anyone who plans to claim over the phone needs to do it by Friday, December 20 as Department for Work and Pension (DWP) phone lines are not open over the weekend. New Pension Credit claims which later turn out to be successful, will also qualify for a backdated Winter Fuel Payment of either £200 or £300.
READ MORE: Pensioners in Scotland urged to claim winter heating help of up to £300 this month
READ MORE: DWP confirms new Pension Credit claims worth £4,200 each year on average
Pension Credit is worth more than £4,000 each year in additional financial support and opens the door to other help with housing costs, Council Tax, heating bills and free TV licences for the over-75s.
Writing in this week’s MoneySavingExpert (MSE.com) newsletter, Martin said: “Deadline to claim and get Winter Fuel Payment (WFP) is this Fri 20 Dec by phone, or Sat online. If you apply by then and are eligible for Pension Credit, you can still get this year's WFP.
“Though it's actually a backdated payment, so you had to have been eligible for Pension Credit in September (for most, little will have changed so that's not an issue).”
He added that the DWP recently confirmed that the average application time is just 16 minutes, however, it’s important to be aware it can take “weeks to process” but you will get backdated payments.
The financial guru also explained who is “likely to get” Pension Credit:
Single with total weekly income of under £200 - likely to get it, so apply
Single with total weekly income of under £235 - may get it, so apply
Couple (both of State Pension age) with total weekly income under £333 - likely to get it, so apply
Couple (both of State Pension age) with total weekly income under £350 - may get it, so apply
Martin also shared what counts as income when the DWP are reviewing applications, these include money from:
Any income
State Pension
Any other pension
Benefits - disability benefits such as Attendance Allowance are not counted towards income
The founder of MSE.com also clarified savings under £10,000 do not impact applications, but for every £500 over £1 is counted as income.
An award of just £1 per week is enough to unlock other support.
Below is an overview of the benefit including eligibility, how to go about it, how much you could get and where to get help filling in the form.
How much could you receive from DWP?
Guarantee Credit tops up your weekly income to:
£218.15 for a single person
£332.95 for a couple (married, in a civil partnership or cohabiting)
You might be able to get more than this if you're disabled or a carer, or you have certain housing costs.
Savings Credit can give you up to:
£17.01 a week for a single person
£19.04 a week for a couple (married, in a civil partnership or cohabiting).
The exact amount you’ll get depends on your income and savings. Your income includes assumed income from savings and capital over £10,000.
How to check eligibility for Pension Credit
Older people, or friends and family, can quickly check their eligibility and get an estimate of what they may receive by using the online Pension Credit calculator on GOV.UK here.
Alternatively, pensioners can contact the Pension Credit helpline directly to make a claim on 0800 99 1234 - lines are open 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. It's important to be aware phone line opening hours will change over the festive fortnight.
Expert help and advice is also available from:
More details about claiming Pension Credit can be found on GOV.UK here.
Other help if you get Pension Credit
If you qualify for Pension Credit you can also get other help, such as:
Housing Benefit if you rent the property you live in
Support for Mortgage Interest if you own the property you live in
Council Tax discount
Free TV licence if you are aged 75 or over
Help with NHS dental treatment, glasses and transport costs for hospital appointments
Help with your heating costs through the Warm Home Discount Scheme or Winter Fuel Payments
A discount on the Royal Mail redirection service if you are moving house
Mixed aged older couples and Pension Credit
In May 2019, the law changed so a ‘mixed age couple’ - a couple where one partner is of State Pension age and the other is under it - are considered to be a ‘working age’ couple when checking entitlement to means-tested benefits.
This means they cannot claim Pension Credit or pension age Housing Benefit until they are both State Pension age. Before this DWP change, a mixed age couple could be eligible to claim the more generous State Pension age benefits when just one of them reached State Pension age.
How to use the Pension Credit calculator
To use the calculator on GOV.UK, you will need details of:
earnings, benefits and pensions
savings and investments
You’ll need the same details for your partner if you have one. You will be presented by a series of questions with multiple choice answer options.
This includes:
Your date of birth
Your residential status
Where in the UK you live
Whether you are registered blind
Which benefits you currently receive
How much you receive each week for any benefits you get
Whether someone is paid Carer’s Allowance to look after you
How much you get each week from pensions - State Pension, private and work pensions
Any employment earnings
Any savings, investments or bonds you have
Once you have answered these questions, a summary screen shows your responses, allowing you to go back and change any answers before submitting. The Pension Credit calculator then displays how much benefit you could receive each week.
All you have to do then is follow the link to the application page to find out exactly what you will get from the DWP, including access to other financial support.
There’s also an option to print off the answers you give using the calculator tool to help you complete the application form quicker without having to look out the same details again. Try the Pension Credit Calculator for yourself or your family member to make sure you’re receiving all the financial support you are entitled to claim.
Who cannot use the Pension Credit calculator?
You cannot use the calculator if you or your partner:
are deferring your State Pension
own more than one property
are self employed
have housing costs (such as service charges or Crown Tenant rent) which are neither mortgage repayments nor rent covered by Housing Benefit
How to make a claim
You can start your application up to four months before you reach State Pension age. You can claim any time after you reach State Pension age but your claim can only be backdated for three months.
This means you can get up to three months of Pension Credit in your first payment if you were eligible during that time.
You will need:
your National Insurance number
information about your income, savings and investments
your bank account details, if you’re applying by phone or by post
If you’re backdating your claim, you’ll need details of your income, savings and investments on the date you want your claim to start.
Apply online
You can use the online service if:
you have already claimed your State Pension
there are no children or young people included in your claim
To check your entitlement, phone the Pension Credit helpline on 0800 99 1234 or use the GOV.UK Pension Credit calculator here to find out how much you could get.
