Older state pensioners can get up to £933 a year from the DWP thanks to one little-known rule.
The Department for Work and Pensions makes a benefit available to state pensioners who hit state pension age before April 2016, known as Savings Credit.
Savings Credit is a part of Pension Credit and qualifies older, basic state pensioners to get up to £17.96 per week extra in their payments from the DWP.
Over the course of a year, that’s an extra £933.
For couples, the amount is even higher, at £20.10 per week, but is shared between two people.
The benefit is tied to savings income, and aims to increase savings income for older retirees, although it also takes into account other income sources like private pensions, work and rental income.
For a single person, for every £1 of income you get above £208.07 per week, you get an extra 60p from Savings Credit, up to a maximum of £17.96 per week. But once you hit that threshold, Pension Credit is reduced by 40p for every £1 over that threshold.
Martin Lewis’ MSE explains: “If you hit State Pension age before April 2016 (so you’re roughly aged 73+) you may be due a top-up if you have savings, even if you’re not due Guarantee Credit.
“The name’s a little misleading, as it doesn’t just look at how much you have in savings. Rather it’s the income level you get from your savings… as well as additional pension pots, and any earnings from work or other sources. The idea is: the more you saved up, the more income you’ll be getting from those savings.”
The DWP explains via Gov.uk: “You could get the ‘Savings Credit’ part of Pension Credit if both of the following apply:
you saved some money for retirement, for example a personal or workplace pension
“You’ll get up to £17.96 Savings Credit a week if you’re single. If you have a partner, you’ll get up to £20.10 a week.
“You might still get some Savings Credit even if you do not get the Guarantee Credit part of Pension Credit.”
