HUNDREDS of thousands of Brits have just two weeks to qualify for £299 in cost of living cash and unlock benefits worth £3,900.
Pensioners who receive pension credit are eligible for the final instalment of cost of living payments.
Hundreds of thousands of Brits have just two weeks to qualify for £299 in cost of living cash
Around 99% of those eligible have already received the cash, according to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
It started being automatically distributed from February 6, or February 16 for those on tax credits, and all payments will be sent out by February 22.
But making a successful pension credit claim by March 5 could mean 850,000 Brits can still get the cash.
Under government rules, recipients of the free cash need to have been entitled to any of the qualifying benefits between November 13 and December 12 last year to be eligible.
However, a successful pension credit claim can be backdated by up to three months, meaning it falls within the qualifying window.
After your claim is approved, you’ll get the £299 payment automatically.
Unfortunately, you won’t be able to backdate claims to get the previous two instalments of the £901 package though.
Are you missing out on benefits?
YOU can use a benefits calculator to help you check that you are not missing out on money you are entitled to.
Charity Turn2Us’ benefits calculator works out what you could get.
Entitledto’s free calculator works out whether you qualify for various benefits, tax credits and Universal Credit.
MoneySavingExpert.com and charity StepChange both have benefits tools powered by Entitledto’s data.
You can use Policy in Practice’s calculator to not only find out which benefits you could receive but also to find out how much cash you’ll have leftover each month after paying for housing costs.
Your exact entitlement will only be clear when you make a claim, but calculators can give you an indication of what you might be eligible for.
Qualifying for the cost of living payment isn’t the only benefit to applying either.
Pension credit is worth around £3,900 a year on average and unlocks many other benefits, such as council tax reductions and help with energy costs.
There are other bonuses available too, such as cold weather payments, free NHS dental treatment and a free TV licence.
The most recent figures suggest that 850,000 retirees are missing out on the benefit.
Who is eligible for pension credit?
Anyone over the state pension age living in England, Scotland or Wales is eligible for pension credit.
The state pension age is currently 66 for both men and women.
To qualify, you must have a weekly income of less than £201.05 for single people or £306.85 for couples.
Your estimated income could include:
Your state pension
Any other pensions you have saved, for instance, workplace or private pension savings
Most social security benefits, for example, carer’s allowance
Any savings or investments worth over £10,000
Earnings from a job
The calculation does not include:
Attendance allowance
Christmas bonus
Disability living allowance
Personal independence payment
Housing benefit
Council tax reduction
If your income is too high to get pension credit, you may still get some savings pension credit, so it’s worth checking.
It used to be the case that couples, where one person was over state pension age, could claim, but new rules now mean that both people in a couple must be over retirement age to apply.
This means if you’re single and move in with a partner who is younger than the state pension age, you will stop being eligible.
But if you’re already receiving pension credit under the old system it won’t stop unless your circumstances change.
How much can you get in pension credit?
There are two parts to the pension credit and pensioners can be eligible for one or both.
Guarantee credit – tops up your weekly income to a guaranteed minimum level. This is £201.05 a week if you’re single and £306.85 a week for married couples.
Savings credit – provides extra money if you’ve saved money towards retirement. You can get an extra £15.94 a week for a single person or £17.84 a week for a married couple.
You may also get additional pension credit if you are disabled, have caring responsibilities or have to pay certain housing costs such as mortgage interest payments.
How do I apply?
You can apply for pension credit up to four months before you reach state pension age.
Applications for pension credit can be made on the government website or by ringing the pension credit claim line on 0800 99 1234.
You will need:
Your National Insurance number
Information about any income, savings and investments you have
Information about your income, savings and investments on the date you want to backdate your application to (usually 3 months ago or the date you reached state pension age)
Your partner will also need to provide their information if you have one.
How will I be paid?
Your benefits will usually be paid into a bank account roughly every four weeks.
You will be asked to provide your bank account details when you claim.
Concessions are sometimes made for people who don’t have access to a bank account.
Meanwhile, millions of households will begin to receive the third cost of living payment from this week.
Plus, we reveal exactly who gets the final instalment of cost of living cash.
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