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Means-tested benefits

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The amount of capital you have can affect your eligibility for means-tested benefits. The same limit applies for both single people and couples.

Pension Credit

For Pension Credit, there is no upper limit of capital above which you cannot claim the benefit. Savings or capital up to £10,000, and any income generated by those savings, are ignored. You will be treated as having ‘assumed income’ of £1 for every £500 (or part of £500) of capital you have above £10,000.

Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit

The lower capital limit for Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit is £10,000. If you have savings or capital of up to £10,000 these, and any income you receive from these savings, are ignored. You will be treated as having assumed income on capital above £10,000 as set out above.

Unlike Pension Credit, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit also have an upper capital limit, which is £16,000. If you have more than this capital limit you will not be entitled to any Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit, unless you qualify for Pension Credit Guarantee Credit.

Valuation of capital

Your capital is generally assessed at its present-day value. If there would be expenses involved in selling your capital, 10% of its value will be deducted.
Any capital you own jointly with other people (besides your spouse, civil partner or partner) will normally be divided equally between the joint owners.

Capital taken into account

  • cash
  • money in bank or building society accounts, including current accounts that do not pay interest
  • National Savings accounts and certificates (there are special rules for valuing these)
  • income bonds
  • stocks and shares
  • property (other than your own home)
  • Premium Bonds
  • a share of any savings you own jointly with other people.

Income taken into account

Most income is taken into account when working out your entitlement to Pensions Credit Guarantee Credit, including:

  • pensions
  • earnings
  • income from annuities
  • most social security benefits
  • Working Tax Credit
  • assumed income from savings
  • income from boarders or sub-tenants
  • maintenance payments from a spouse or ex-spouse.
 

Your Age Cymru

Set your location to see what Age Cymru offers in your local area.

Age UK Advice:
0800 169 6565

Useful informtion to download

  • A factsheet about how capital and income are treated when calculating means-tested benefits.
    opens link in new window FS53 Capital Income and Means Tested Benefits - April 2011 (PDF 217 KB)
  •  
    Help with downloads

    Downloads

    What is a download?

    A download is a document (like a research report, a leaflet, or an application form) that can be transferred from our website to your computer. You can download a file, view it on your screen, print it, or save it to your computer.

    What is a PDF?

    PDF stands for ‘portable document format’.

    Most downloads on this website are PDFs. We use this format to ensure that the document looks the same on everyone’s computer (website pages, by contrast, appear differently depending on how people have got their computer set up).

    How do I download a PDF?

    Computers use a program called Adobe Acrobat Reader to download PDFs. If you try clicking on a link to download a PDF and it doesn’t work, you will need to install Adobe Acrobat Reader onto your computer.

    How do I install Adobe Acrobat Reader?

    The process is quite straightforward and is free.

    1. Go to opens link in new window http://get.adobe.com/uk/reader/
    2. Click ‘Download’.
    3. Wait for the window to offer you the option to ‘Run’, then choose this option.
    4. Click ‘Next’.
    5. Click ‘Install’
    6. Wait for the window to offer you the option to ‘Finish’, then choose this option.

    How do I change a download?

    PDFs cannot be changed. If you need to be able to type into a downloaded document (for example, if we are offering a letter template that you need to put your name on) we will provide it as a Microsoft Word document rather than a PDF. You can then download it, type into it and save it to your computer.

    How do I print or save a download?

    Downloads will open on your computer in a new browser window.

    Inside this window (below all your web browser menus), there will be a toolbar with options for you to print or save the document.

    Close the browser window to return to the Age UK website.

    Can my screen reader read PDF downloads?

    We have made every effort to make our PDFs accessible to screen readers. Here is an overview of your accessibility options available in Acrobat Reader. Please ensure that you have downloaded the latest version of Acrobat Reader from the Adobe Reader website to ensure that they are included in your version of the programme.

    You can use Adobe Reader to read a PDF out loud with the following shortcut keys:

    • Read the document: Shift +Ctrl+Y
    • Read the open page only: Shift +Ctrl+V
    • Read to the end of the document: Shift+Ctrl+B
    • Pause: Shift+Ctrl+C
    • Stop Shift+Ctrl+E


    You can also convert a PDF into a web page by following these steps:

    • Copy the URL (web address) of the document (right-click on the link and select ‘Save target as’ or ‘Copy link’).
    • Open the Adobe online conversion tool in your browser and paste the URL into the URL box.
    • Tick the HTML box on the Format option and click ‘Convert’.


    You can convert a PDF document into a text file for use with other software and hardware such as Braille printers by opening the PDF and choosing ‘Save as text’ from the File menu.

 

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