Dear LPG readers,

I would like to bring attention to an email that I was sent not so long ago, that in the light of the fact that we are over 75 years old and will soon be expected to pay full television licence fees, this may be of some help.

We have been let off a few extra months thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic but in August the inevitable letters will be on their way with their news of yet another bill for so many. The message also reminds us that there will still be some exemptions. 

One group of pensioners that will not have to pay are those in possession of a pension credit entitlement, and this fact got me thinking about just who is entitled to that benefit.   When I got Googling I found out that there are quite a lot of eligible households who are entitled and don’t claim.  That got me motivated to find out about just what your financial circumstances have to be for you to qualify and I have found a website which has that information.

So if you are over the age of 66, are part of a couple who have a joint income of less than £265.65 a week, or a single pensioner that lives on less than £173.75 a week, it is worth looking into.

Being in receipt of Pension Credit could also entitle you to free dental and optical treatment while it could keep your television licence free, and those on pension credit can often be entitled to help with council tax if they live alone.  What I have written only gives a guide and it is all a bit more complicated than that, but I found a telephone number of the Pension Claim line where you can get more information.  It is 0800 99 1234. 

I hope that the above information will persuade some readers to just take a look, perhaps make a phone call and find out what they might be missing.

SW, Beckenham

SW shares her research….

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… and a pension credit online calculator…

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