Age Cymru is urging older people in Wales who are living on a low State Pension to check their eligibility and apply for pension credit before 18 August 2022 to receive the £650 cost-of-living payment scheduled for this coming autumn.
The £650 payment, announced by the UK Government back in May, will be paid to those who receive Pension Credit in two lump sums of £326 and £324. The first was due to be paid last month and the second in the autumn. New, successful applicants will receive the full £650 payment.
To receive the extra payment, older people must have been entitled to claim Pension Credit between 26 April and 25 May this year. However, anyone beginning a successful application for Pension Credit before August 18 will still be entitled to both the benefit and the extra payment because the application can be backdated by three months.
To check your eligibility for pension credit you, or a relative or friend, can find out by using the Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) pension credit calculator by visiting www.gov.uk/pension-credit-calculator.
Roughly a third of those eligible for pension credit in Wales are not claiming it, with an estimated £175m worth of support and benefits going unclaimed each year. In addition to the extra income from pension credit and the cost-of-living payments, pension credit can also open the door to a wide range of support including help with energy bills in the winter, free TV licences for the over 75s, dental treatment, help with rent and council tax reduction.
If you’ve been turned down before, it may still be worth making a new claim, as benefits rates change, as can your finances.
To make a claim for Pension Credit, people should call the DWP Pension Credit claim line direct on 0800 99 1234 or visit www.gov.uk/pension-credit/how-to-claim. It can be claimed by phone and online.
