United Kingdom - Apply for Pension Credit

Advertisement

Procedure

A Pension Credit is an income-related benefit given to eligible individuals living in England, Scotland or Wales and have reached State Pension age. You may apply Pension Credit online, by phone, or by post.

Apply Online

1. You may apply online if you have already claimed your State Pension or there are no children or young people included in your claim. Before you begin your online application please make sure you have these following information ready:
   • your National Insurance number
   • information about your income, savings and investments
   • your bank account details, if you’re applying via phone or by post
   • If you’re backdating your claim, you’ll also need provide details of your income, savings and investments on the date you want your claim to start.
2. To start your Pension Credit application please click this link - Apply for Pension Credit online.
3. Click the "Start now" button to begin the process.
4. The first part of the application process will require you to answer few questions that will help determine if you are eligible to receive Pension Credit. All you need to do is click the button that corresponds to your answer and then click the "Continue" button. You may be asked by the system to type in your answer like your date of birth, in this case enter your answer on the box provided in the page and click the "Continue" button.
5. Based on you answers the system will determine if you are eligible to receive Pension Credit. If you are you may submit a claim by simply following the online instructions on how to file your claim.
6. Please keep in mind that you need to complete your application all in one go. You will not be able to save it and come back later. Take as long as you need to complete your application. As part of the procedure to keep your information secure, the system will delete your answers if you do not enter information on any page for more than 30 minutes. You will be given a chance to extend the time if ever this happens. If you do not extend the time, you will have to start all over again.
7. You will be informed by the Pension Service when you will start receiving your pension.

Apply by Phone

1. You can also apply for Pension Credit by phone. You can have a friend or family member call for you if you cannot use the phone. Call the Pension Credit claim line on 0800 99 1234 (textphone: 0800 169 0133).
2. They will be the one to fill in the application for you over the phone.

Apply by Post

1. To apply by post, print out and fill in the Pension Credit claim form or call the claim line to request a form. A link is provided under 'Documents to Use' section which you can use to download the form. Use the notes to help you fill in the claim form. You can also contact a voluntary organisation like Citizens Advice or Age UK if you need help with the form.
2. Make sure you fully complete, date, and sign the form.
3. Send the completed claim form to the Pension Service, or ask someone to do it for you. Here is the address:

   The Pension Service 8

   Post Handling Site B

   Wolverhampton

   WV99 1AN

Advertisement

Required Documents

List down the documents required for successfully completing the procedure.

e.g.
1. Proof of child birth from the Hospital.

Office Locations & Contacts

Pension Service helpline
Telephone: 0800 731 0469
Textphone: 0800 169 0133
Relay UK (if you cannot hear or speak on the phone): 18001 then 0800 731 0469
Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm

Pension Credit claim line
Telephone: 0800 99 1234
Textphone: 0800 169 0133
Relay UK (if you cannot hear or speak on the phone): 18001 then 0800 99 1234
Video relay service for British Sign Language (BSL) users - check you can use this service
Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm

Eligibility

To be eligible to receive a pension credit you must be living in England, Scotland or Wales and have reached State Pension age.

If you’re in a couple you can start getting Pension Credit if either:

• you and your partner have both reached State Pension age
• one of you is getting Housing Benefit for people over State Pension age

Your partner is your husband, wife or civil partner (if you live with them) or someone else you live with as if you were married.

Fees

Explain the fees structure which is required for obtaining the certificate/document.

Validity

Explain the time until which the certificate/document is valid.
e.g. Birth Certificate Valid Forever

Documents to Use

Pension Credit claim form

Sample Documents

Please attach sample completed documents that would help other people.

Processing Time

Please explain processing time taken in obtaining the document/certificate.

Related Videos

Videos explaining the procedure or to fill the applications. 
Attach videos using the following tag <&video type='website'>video ID|width|height<&/video&> from external websites. 	
Please remove the '&' inside the tags during implementation.
Website = allocine, blip, dailymotion, facebook, gametrailers, googlevideo, html5, metacafe, myspace, revver, 
sevenload, viddler, vimeo, youku, youtube
width = 560, height = 340, Video ID = Can be obtained from the URL of webpage where the video is displayed.
e.g In the following url 'http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0US7oR_t3M' Video ID is 'Y0US7oR_t3M'.

Instructions

Pension Credit is an income-related benefit made up of 2 parts - Guarantee Credit and Savings Credit.

• Guarantee Credit: This type of credit tops up your weekly income if it’s below £173.75 (for single people) or £265.20 (for couples). You may still be eligible if you have savings, a pension or your own home.
• Savings Credit:This is an extra payment for people who have saved some money towards their retirement, for example a pension.

You may begin your application up to 4 months before you reach State Pension age.

You can claim Pension Credit any time after you have reached State Pension age, but your claim can only be backdated for 3 months. This means you can get up to 3 months of Pension Credit in your first payment if you were eligible during that time.

Required Information

• National Insurance number
• Bank account details
• Information about your income, savings and investments
• Information about your pension (if you have one)
• Details of any housing costs (such as mortgage, interest payments, service charges)
• Partner’s details (if you have a partner)

Need for the Document

When you apply for a Pension Credit here's how much you will get:

• Guarantee Credit per week:
  • Single people: Top up to £173.75
  • Couples: Top up to £265.20
• Savings Credit per week
  • Single people: Up to £13.97
  • Couples: Up to £15.62

You might get additional financial aid if you’re a carer, severely disabled, responsible for a child or young person, or have certain housing costs.

All benefits, pensions and allowances are paid into an account, for example a bank account.

For applications submitted online: If you apply online, the Pension Credit will be deposited to the account you are using for your State Pension. You will may change this once you have started receiving your Pension Credit payments.

Information which might help

Enter other informations which might help.

Other uses of the Document/Certificate

Please explain what are other uses of obtaining this document/certificate.
e.g. Birth Certificate can be used as proof of identity.

External Links

UK Government Services Website

Others

More information which might help people.