Dear LPG,

Even if someone has written about this before, I really think that it is worth saying again. 

I know I am not the only older person that does it, so can I ask if any other person puts the television on and then more or less ignores it while it just keeps them company?  That is exactly what I was doing yesterday.  I was nodding off but my ears pricked up when I caught a program which mentioned two facts that every pensioner should know.

The first was that – even though most pensioners now have to pay for their television licence, it is still free for all pensioners who are eligible for Pension Credit. 

The second was that -  there are loads of people who could claim but don’t.

I took a look on line and found out that if your weekly income is less than £173.75 if you're single, or £265.20 if you're a couple, you could be eligible.

A bit of Googling taught me about an online calculator that might help you to work out if it is worth you applying, and the worrying statistic that over 35% of the people who are eligible don’t even know, it bothered me a bit.  I also found out that there are quite a few other things that being on pension credit might help you with.

In addition to being entitled to that free Television Licence, if you qualify, you are likely not to have to pay council tax, you would get help with dental and optical treatment and even getting to and from hospital appointments, you could get help with any rent that you pay, your winter heating payment could be a bit higher and you could get some help with your mortgage if you still have one.

The statistics speak for themselves.  It is obvious that a lot of pensioners who are just about managing, have never even checked to see if they are missing out, so I hope that my attempt to get a few more readers checking can make a little bit of difference.

TM, New Cross

TM offers some information to read…

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… some information to watch…

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… and an online calculator to try…

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