Martin Lewis has delivered a stark caution to pensioners in the run-up to today’s Autumn Budget, set to be unveiled by Chancellor Rachel Reeves on October 30. On his ITV show, Mr. Lewis highlighted that many pensioners aren’t claiming Pension Credit, which he describes as “critically underclaimed” despite it offering an average boost of £3,900 to eligible claimants’ incomes.
Alongside this, he signalled a concern about the stringent criteria for eligibility, remarking: “For a single person, you need an income of under £11,400 to be eligible for Pension Credit.”
He also noted, “I think that is a very tight means test and Pension Credit is critically underclaimed. Not enough people who are eligible are claiming it, about 700,000 are missing out.”
Pension Credit can raise an individual’s weekly income to £218.15, equalling £11,343.80 annually, or up to £332.95 for couples, totalling £17,313.40 a year. There might be additional payments available depending on circumstances, such as an extra £81.50 per week for severe disabilities or an additional £45.60 if caring responsibilities are involved.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to confirm a modest benefit payment rise of 1.7% this coming April in her Budget announcement.
The Pension Credit income top-up is set to rise to £221.86 a week for single claimants and £338.61 a week for couples. Claiming Pension Credit also grants access to other forms of support, such as a free TV licence for those aged over 75 and council tax discounts.
Additionally, claimants are eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment, which is worth £200 or £300 this year. The eligibility rules for this have recently changed, meaning you now need to be on a means-tested benefit like Pension Credit to qualify – previously, it was a universal benefit for people of state pension age.
To claim this support, you must have reached the state pension age, currently 66, although you don’t need to be claiming your state pension to apply. The full new state pension currently pays £221.20 a week, while the full basic state pension is £169.50 a week.
You can check how much state pension you’re set to receive using the state pension forecast tool on the Government website.