Claiming rebates

If you are over 60 and struggling with income and council tax, then the news is pretty good at the moment in terms of claiming rebates. It is also applicable to some tenants.

You can claim for pension credit if you are aged 60 or over which will raise the amount you take home per week to £130 a week as a single person, or £198.45 for a couple.

Pension credit can be had even if you are receiving an income of up to £181 a week or £266 a week as a couple). There are higher amounts for those who have a disability, or if you work as a carer for someone or if you still have a mortgage to pay off. Beware though, that savings can affect the amount you are entitled to, with up to £6,000 savingsa allowed before limits kick in.

The first £1 above £6,000 will be counted as you having an £1 a week. By the same token, each £500 above that £6,000 adds another £1 to this.

Basically, there isn’t a limit to savings for pension credit claims. If you have a full basic pension and savings of £48,500 as a single person, you can claim some amount of pension credit. The savings go up to £62,500 for a couple. And if you don’t have an income, you can have £96,000 from April (£139,000 for a couple) in savings and still qualify for pension credit.

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