Pension Credit Calculator

Pension Credit has two elements assessed independently. Guarantee Credit tops up weekly income to a minimum level, £238.00 for single claimants or £363.25 for couples in 2026/27. Your qualifying income includes State Pension, private pensions, earnings, and most benefits. If your assessed income falls below the appropriate minimum guarantee, the shortfall is paid as Guarantee Credit. You also need to have reached State Pension age, which is rising from 66 to 67 between 2026 and 2028 for people born on or after 6 April 1960.

Savings Credit rewards people who made modest provision for retirement beyond the basic State Pension. It is only available to those who reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016, and it has been shut to new claimants ever since. The maximum Savings Credit is £17.96 per week for singles or £20.10 for couples in 2026/27. It is calculated by taking 60% of qualifying income above the Savings Credit threshold (£208.07 single, £329.75 couple), then reducing by 40% of any income above the Guarantee Credit minimum.

Capital is treated far more gently than under working-age benefits. The first £10,000 is ignored entirely, and each £500 (or part of £500) of capital above £10,000 counts as £1 per week of deemed income, so £10,100 already adds £1. There is no upper capital limit that disqualifies you from Pension Credit altogether, which is the reverse of how Universal Credit behaves. Money in an ISA counts as capital like any other savings, and the interest it earns is not counted as income. Someone with £18,000 in the bank therefore sees £16 a week added to their assessed income rather than losing the claim.

The top-up is often the smaller half of the prize. Receiving even £1 a week of Pension Credit triggers entitlement to a free TV licence for the over-75s, Council Tax Reduction, Housing Benefit, Cold Weather Payments, the Warm Home Discount, free dental treatment, glasses vouchers, exemption from NHS prescription charges, a Carer's Allowance bonus and the £10 Christmas Bonus. Added together, those linked benefits are typically worth £4,000-£8,000 a year, which is why even a nominal weekly award repays the effort of claiming.

Up to 910,000 entitled families did not claim in 2023/24, on the DWP's latest estimate (published October 2025), giving up around £2,600 a year each in cash before the linked benefits are counted. Some do not realise they qualify, homeowners in particular, because they assume owning a property rules them out. Others are deterred by the stigma attached to benefits, by an application form running to roughly 60 pages, or by a fear of capital limits that do not exist at the top end. The same DWP figures put take-up at just 62% of those entitled, so roughly 4 in 10 eligible families still miss out.

Applications go through gov.uk/pension-credit or the claim line on 0800 99 1234. Have your National Insurance number, bank details, a breakdown of income from the State Pension, private pensions and employment, savings details, housing costs and your partner's details ready before you start. Claims can be backdated by three months, so applying promptly matters if your entitlement began earlier. A decision usually takes 4-6 weeks. Payment then goes into your bank account weekly or every 4 weeks, is free of tax, and does not count towards Universal Credit or working-age benefit limits.