Age needs one voice. Now it has:
Age Cyrmru is the new force combining Age Concern Cymru and
Help the Aged in Wales. Age Cymru is a member of the Age UK family.
The new force combining &
Almost half of all pensioners are entitled to Pension Credit. Yet about a third of those eligible (up to 1.8 million older people) are still not claiming it. If you’re one of them‚ you could be missing out on up to £1‚500 a year.
There are two parts of Pension Credit – you may be eligible to receive one or both of them. Guarantee Credit is designed to make sure that people aged 60 and over have a guaranteed level of income. It is worked out by comparing your income with the amount the Government thinks you need to live on. This amount is known as the standard minimum guarantee. Savings Credit is paid to people aged 65 and over‚ who have made some retirement provision in addition to their basic State Pension.
You need to be 60 or over for Guarantee Credit; 65 or over for Savings Credit.
Generally‚ you will receive Guarantee Credit if your weekly income is less than £137.35 if you are single and £209.70 if you are a couple.
For Savings Credit‚ you can have a higher weekly income – normally up to around £188.50 if you are single or £277.00 if you are a couple – and still receive some benefit.
All these amounts may be higher if you are severely disabled‚ a carer‚ or are a home owner with a mortgage.
There is no savings limit for Pension Credit but if you have over £10‚000 this will reduce the amount you get.You can get a claim form by phoning the Pension Credit Line on 0800 991 234 or by visiting the Pension Service website (see ‘Useful websites’)
“I’m much better off now. It is easier to make ends meet.”
Sixty-four year-old Terry had no idea he and his wife were entitled to Pension Credit and full payment of their council tax bill. That was until the lads at the working men’s club told him to go see Amanda at Age Concern.
“I’d worked nearly all my life in the building trade and I just couldn’t do it anymore because it took its toll on my body.
“So I went to work at a recycling plant instead‚ picking things off the line‚ but the conditions were terrible. My skin was coming out in a rash all down my back‚ arms and legs. I was scratching all the time."We save over £1‚000 a year"“I knew I had to pack my job in but I was worried because I was only 60 and couldn’t claim my pension yet. But Amanda took care of me. She filled in some forms and helped me and my wife claim Pension Credit of £198.45 a week. We also got full Council Tax Benefit so we save over £1‚000 a year.
“When I was working I was taking home about £150 a week. I had hit my saving because the money I was getting wasn’t enough to live on. I’m much better off now. It is easier to make ends meet.
“If you’re like me and you’re over 60 and you don’t have a lot of money you should go and speak to Age Concern. They are always there to help you and give you good advice.”
FS48 Pension credit - April 2011 (PDF 273KB)
FS19 State Pension - November 2011 (PDF 328KB)
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The Pension Service provides details of state pensions, including forecasts and how to claim your pension.
Downloads
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.
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).
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.
The process is quite straightforward and is free.
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.
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.
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:
You can also convert a PDF into a web page by following these steps:
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.
This book covers all the information on the benefits that you may be entitled to. Visit our 'Books' section for details of how to order, and for other Age UK publications.
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