Reached state pension age? Six DWP benefits you could be entitled to claim
BRITONS who have reached state pension age could be missing out on hundreds of pounds by not claiming their entitlement.
Attendance Allowance: Age UK helps man claim benefit
Attendance Allowance, Pension Credit and other benefits are solely provided to those over the state pension age. However, some of these benefits are vastly underclaimed, meaning there's potentially thousands of people missing out during the cost of living crunch.
Attendance Allowance
This benefit is available to those over the state pension age who have a disability severe enough to require supervision or additional care.
Britons don’t necessarily need to be receiving care in order to claim this benefit, they only have to prove that they need it.
There are two rates for Attendance Allowance, a lower rate for those that need assistance during either the day or night and a higher rate for those that need help during both.
After the 3.1 percent rise to benefit payments last week Monday, the rates for Attendance Allowance are currently:
- £61.85 for the lower rate
- £92.40 for the higher rate.
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This is a non-means tested benefit, meaning the amount of income or savings one has will not affect their eligibility.
Pension Credit
Pension Credit is a highly underclaimed benefit, providing those over the state pension age on a low income a top up.
This benefit can also help with additional costs such as rent, and Britons could get extra money if they are a carer, disabled or responsible for a child or young person.
Britons needs to include their spouse or partner in their application, much like Universal Credit.
Pension Credit can top up an individual’s weekly income to £182.60 per week or £278.70 if they have a partner.
There is a Pension Credit calculator online provided by Gov.uk where Britons can see how much they may be able to claim through this benefit.
Claiming Pension Credit can make Britons eligible for a range of other benefits, although it should be noted that these other benefits have other requirements too.
Dies beinhaltet:
- Housing Benefit
- Support for Mortgage Interest
- Council Tax reduction
- Free TV licence
- Help with certain NHS items and treatments
- Help with heating costs.
Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
Britons who have become disabled or ill due to their work can receive this benefit, which can include:
- Becoming disabled due to an accident at work
- Having an illness caused by work or an employment training scheme.
The amount they receive will depend on their individual circumstances up to £188.60 per week.
However, those who were self-employed at the time of their accident will not be able to claim.
Constant Attendance Allowance
To be eligible for this benefit, Britons must be claiming either Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit or War Disablement Pension.
They must also require daily care due to their disability.
There are four different rates Britons could receive depending on the extent of their disability and the required care due to it, up to £151 per week.