Pension Credit - Can I get Pension Credit?

You can claim Pension Credit whether or not you are working. You also do not have to have paid national insurance contributions.

Guarantee Pension Credit

If you fit the age rules and are on a low income, you could get Guarantee Pension Credit.You can use the Turn2us Benefits Calculator to check if you qualify.

Age Rules

To get Guarantee Pension Credit you (or your partner) must have reached State Pension age. You can work out whether you have reached Pension Credit age by using the State Pension age calculator on the Gov.UK website.

Age Rules for Couples

From 15 May 2019, both members of a couple need to have reached State Pension age in order to qualify for Guarantee Pension Credit. Where only one partner is aged over Pension Credit age, the couple will not receive it, though they could claim Universal Credit instead.

Guarantee Pension Credit is more generous than Universal Credit. If you or your partner were already over Pension Credit age on 14 May 2019 and were already claiming Housing Benefit, you might be able to claim Pension Credit. Use the Turn2us Benefits Calculator to check.

You can continue to get Pension Credit after 15 May 2019, as long as you don’t have a change of circumstance which takes you off it.   

Income and Savings

Your income has to be low enough to get Guarantee Pension Credit. You can use our Benefits Calculator to check if you qualify.  

You can make a claim for Guarantee Pension Credit, no matter how much savings and capital you have. However, if you have capital and savings above £10,000, every £500 you have above £10,000 is counted as £1 of income when your Pension Credit is calculated. For example, if you have £11,000 in savings, this counts as £2 income a week.

Savings Pension Credit

You could get this part of Pension Credit if you have a certain amount of income coming in from pensions, savings, earnings and investments and are over 65 and reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016. See the full qualification rules for Savings Pension Credit on the Gov.UK website

Pension Credit while outside the UK

You can continue to get Pension Credit for up to 4 weeks if you are out of the UK, for example on holiday. However, you must be eligible for Pension Credit when you leave and stay eligible when you’re away. You should inform the Pension Service if you are leaving the UK for any period. If you’re out of the country for more than 4 weeks because a close relative has died, or if they died while you’re away and you cannot reasonably return to the UK, you can keep getting Pension Credit for an additional 4 weeks. If you left the country for medical treatment, you can continue to receive Pension Credit for up to 26 weeks.