State pensioners aged 66 or over being handed free £4,200 'inside 16 minutes'

DWP is continuing to promote the importance of applying for Pension Credit as the Cost of Living crisis continues.
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The Department for Work and Pensions is handing state pensioners aged 66 and over a free £4,200 inside just 16 minutes. The DWP is continuing to promote the importance of applying for Pension Credit as the Cost of Living crisis continues.

In a recent update on X (previously known as Twitter), the DWP highlighted that it takes "roughly 16 minutes to apply online" for Pension Credit via GOV.UK. You must live in England, Scotland or Wales and have reached State Pension age to qualify for Pension Credit.

If you’re from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein, you and your family usually also need settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme to get Pension Credit. You’ll be eligible if either you and your partner have both reached State Pension age or one of you is getting Housing Benefit for people over State Pension age.

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When you apply for Pension Credit your income is calculated. If you have a partner, your income is calculated together. Pension Credit tops up your weekly income to £218.15 if you’re single and your joint weekly income to £332.95 if you have a partner.

If your income is higher, you might still be eligible for Pension Credit if you have a disability, you care for someone, you have savings or you have housing costs. Your income includes State Pension, other pensions and earnings from employment and self-employment as well as most social security benefits, for example Carer’s Allowance.

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Not all benefits are counted as income. For example, the following are not counted: Adult Disability Payment, Attendance Allowance, Christmas Bonus, Child Benefit, Disability Living Allowance, Pension Age Disability Payment, Personal Independence Payment, social fund payments like Winter Fuel Allowance, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction.

If you’re entitled to a personal or workplace pension and you have not claimed it yet, the amount you’d expect to get still counts as income. If you’ve deferred your State Pension, the amount of State Pension you would get is counted as income.

You cannot build up extra amounts for deferring your State Pension if you or your partner are getting Pension Credit. If you have £10,000 or less in savings and investments this will not affect your Pension Credit. If you have more than £10,000, every £500 over £10,000 counts as £1 income a week. For example, if you have £11,000 in savings, this counts as £2 income a week.