29 May 2025
If you are covering the latest pension credit statistics from the Department for Work and Pensions, please find below a comment from Jon Greer, head of retirement policy at Quilter:
“Pension credit has been a perennially underclaimed benefit. But the government’s decision to means test the Winter Fuel Payment has clearly kicked many into action to start claiming it in order to receive the highly prized payment. Since the announcement that Winter Fuel Payments would be awarded to only those receiving pension credit, there has been a 57% increase in the number of successful applications compared to the same period the year before.
“Many other payments and benefits are linked to pension credit, including a free TV licence for over 75s and council tax discounts. With the public finances in a precarious position and cost of living still a very important issue, many will be wanting to ensure they get the entitlement they deserve and need.
“However, the surge in applicants may have left many disappointed as 146,000 claims were not awarded during that time period because they were not eligible, a 99% increase on the year before. This surge is also having a huge impact on the systems used by government to assess claims. Our recent freedom of information request found that pension credit application processing times peaked at 87 working days in December 2024, significantly above the Department for Work and Pensions' (DWP) 50-working-day target. If we are to make the drive to get people on the correct benefits, we must not be leaving them in limbo for that long. But the latest figures show the service has worked hard at clearing the backlog reducing it from 85,500 at its peak in December 2024 to 10,800 in mid-May this year.
“The government, however, has now created a new element of uncertainty by saying it would like more people to be eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment but without saying how they will assess claims. A lot of progress has been made in getting more people who should be receiving pension credit to apply for it, but without clarity on the Winter Fuel Payment, that progress may now stall.
“It is vital that people who think they should be eligible apply for pension credit, regardless of all the noise around the Winter Fuel Payment. Applying is simple and the government needs to keep up the momentum so that everyone who should be in receipt of the benefit is actually getting it.”
In order to successfully get pension credit in the UK, you need to meet the following criteria:
- You must have reached State Pension age, which is currently 66 or older.
- You must live in England, Scotland or Wales.
- Your weekly income should be below £227.10 if you’re single, or £346.60 if you’re in a couple. If you have a disability or caring responsibilities, you might still qualify with a slightly higher income.
- If you have savings and investments over £10,000, each £500 above this amount counts as £1 in additional income per week when calculating eligibility. For example, if you have £11,000 in savings, this counts as £2 income a week.
The Pension Credit calculator can also help to see if you’re eligible and how much you could get, available on the Gov.uk website.
