State pensioners handed 'lifeline' by DWP in form of £4,300 payments

Thousands will be handed a "real lifeline" by the Department for Work and Pensions in the form of £4,200 benefits. DWP claimants can get Pension Credit - which is a life-saving boost among the Cost of Living crisis - it has been reported.

Pension Credit claims can be backdated by three months and while the benefit is worth an extra £3,900 to yearly income as well as energy support in upcoming months, it can also give them the £300 Winter Fuel Allowance.

With Pension Credit, claimants can get council tax reductions and free TV licences too. Mike Ambery, retirement savings director at Standard Life, part of Phoenix Group said: “It’s estimated that around 880,000 people who are eligible for pension credit don’t take it up.

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"Some mistakenly believe that if they have some savings or their own home they won’t be entitled to pension credit, while others worry about a perceived stigma attached to claiming. However, eligibility is wider than often assumed and Pension Credit can be a real lifeline when times are tough – especially now.

"If you’re above state pension age and on a low income, definitely check your eligibility on the government’s online Pension Credit calculator to make sure you’re getting all available help.” Chancellor Rachel Reeves has also encouraged take-up and said: “If you know someone who could get pension credit and help with their fuel bills, now is the time to help them apply for Pension Credit.

“It has become a desperate scramble for many pensioners to now claim Pension Credit in time to receive winter fuel payments. It should not have been this way. The Government should have delivered this significant change at a more gradual pace and carried it out alongside clear targets to improve the uptake of Pension Credit, including exploring making it an automatic payment."