Pension credits
Pension Credits, which are administered by The Pension Sevice ,
and are divided into two separate categories. Guarantee Credit and
Savings Credit. Visit the Gov.uk website for more information.
Guarantee Credit - Entitlement to Guarantee
Credit will give the claimant linked entitlement to maximum Housing
and Council Tax Benefit, (unless anyone else, other than your
partner, lives in your household).
Savings Credit - Entitlement to Savings Credit
will not give you linked entitlement to maximum Housing and Council
Tax Benefit. If you have capital of more than £16,000 you
will not qualify for Housing or Council Tax Benefit.
Additional Information
The Pension service will complete your claim for Pension Credits
and Housing Benefit over the telephone. They will send you the
completed forms to be checked, signed and returned.
Please note, if you wish to apply for Council Tax Support, but do
not wish to claim Housing Benefit, and you are applying for Pension
Credit, you should also complete one of our application forms or
declarations as The Pension Service may not forward the information
to us.
Frequently Asked Questions
To whom should I report my change in
circumstances?
If you are in receipt of Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax
Support and you or any member of your household have a change in
circumstance, you should notify our Benefits team.
If you are in receipt of Pension Credit you should report any
change to the Pension Service.
However, you should advise us in writing immediately of the
following: A change in the rent you pay / A change in household
members, or a change to their income or capital / your capital
increases to £16,000.00.
If you receive Council Tax Support, but not Housing Benefit, and
you are in receipt of Pension Credit, you should also report any
change to our Benefits Team as the Pension Service may not forward
any information to us.
If I change from Guarantee Credit to Savings Credit will I
need to complete a new application?
No, you should forward the award letter you received from the
Pension Service to show your Assessed Income Figure and the amount
of Savings Credit you are in receipt of. Your Housing Benefit
entitlement and/or Council Tax Reduction will be recalculated using
this information.
How long will my Housing Benefit claim and/or Council
Tax Support last?
A claim for Housing Benefit claim and/or Council Tax Support will
run continuously for an indefinite period, without having to
reapply, until a change of circumstances occurs.
We will contact you at periodically during the lifetime of your
claim to ensure the information we hold is correct. This may be by
sending you a form to complete through the post by a telephone call
to you. This is to ensure we are paying you the correct
entitlement.
If you receive a form through the post you need to complete it
fully and return it with evidence of any changes in circumstances
since your last application. Only original documents are
acceptable.
If your circumstances change you must tell us immediately as this
may result in an overpayment of Housing benefit or your Council Tax
Support may have altered from a date in the past leaving you with
more Council Tax to pay.
I am a pensioner and I have someone else living in my
home. How does this affect my Housing Benefit claim and/or Council
Tax Support?
The person living in your household may be classed as a non -
dependant. If during the life of your claim the non-dependant
has a change that would reduce your benefit entitlement the
reduction does not now take effect until 26 weeks after the change
has occurred. You must still notify us of this change
immediately.
How do I apply for Pension Credits?
Pension Credits are administered by the Pension Service. You can contact
them on 0800 99 1234 or by visiting their website Gov.uk.