- You are eligible if you live in England, Scotland or Wales, have reached State Pension age, and your weekly income is below £238.00 (single) or £363.25 (couple). If you have a partner, you usually both need to have reached State Pension age.4
- Pension Credit tops your weekly income up to a guaranteed minimum of £238.00 for a single person or £363.25 for a couple over State Pension age.2
- If your income from all sources is below that figure, Pension Credit pays the difference; if it is above, you usually get no Guarantee Credit.
- Savings are treated gently: the first £10,000 is ignored, and above that each £500 (or part of £500) counts as just £1/week of income. There is no £16,000 cut-off like Universal Credit.2
- Owning your home does not affect eligibility, and even a small award can passport you to Council Tax Reduction, NHS help and Cold Weather Payments.
Check yours in 30 seconds
A quick Pension Credit estimate at 2026/27 rates, worked out the same way as our full Pension Credit calculator.
Pension Credit eligibility checklist 2026/27
You can usually get Pension Credit if all of these are true:
1. You have reached State Pension age.4
2. You live in England, Scotland or Wales. Northern Ireland has its own scheme.4
3. Your weekly income is below your limit: £238.00 if you are single or £363.25 for a couple, or more if you get an extra amount for disability or caring.2
4. If you have a partner, you have both reached State Pension age, or one of you gets Housing Benefit for people over State Pension age.4
Savings do not stop you claiming. The first £10,000 is ignored, and there is no upper limit.4
| A week | A month (budgeting) | A year | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single | £238.00 | £1,031.33 | £12,376.00 |
| Couple | £363.25 | £1,574.08 | £18,889.00 |
| Single, with the severe disability amount | £324.05 | £1,404.22 | £16,850.60 |
| Single, with the carer amount | £286.15 | £1,239.98 | £14,879.80 |
The severe disability amount adds £86.05 a week and the carer amount £48.15 a week if you qualify for them.2
Who is eligible for Pension Credit?
Age: you must have reached State Pension age. It is 66, and it rises in steps to 67 for people born on or after 6 April 1960, so check your own date with the GOV.UK State Pension age checker. You can apply up to 4 months before you reach it.45
Where you live: England, Scotland or Wales. You can keep getting Pension Credit during a trip outside Great Britain of 4 weeks or less. Northern Ireland runs its own Pension Credit through nidirect.4
Income: your weekly income, counting State Pension, other pensions, earnings and assumed income from savings over £10,000, must be below £238.00 if you are single or £363.25 for a couple, unless extra amounts for disability, caring or housing costs raise your own threshold.42
Couples: since 15 May 2019, a couple can usually only make a new claim when both partners have reached State Pension age, unless one of them gets Housing Benefit for people over State Pension age. Our mixed-age couples guide explains the exceptions.4
Savings Credit, the smaller second part, is only for people who reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016.2
Pension Credit income limits 2026/27
The income limit is the weekly amount Pension Credit tops you up to. If your income is below your own limit, you are normally eligible for Guarantee Credit and it pays the difference.4
Your limit starts at £238.00 a week if you are single or £363.25 for a couple, and it is higher if you get an extra amount for disability or caring, or have certain housing costs.24 Count assumed income from savings: £1 a week for every £500 (or part of £500) over £10,000.4
| Single person | £238.00 a week |
| Couple | £363.25 a week |
| Single, with the severe disability amount (£238.00 + £86.05) | £324.05 a week |
| Couple, both qualifying for the severe disability amount (£363.25 + £172.10) | £535.35 a week |
| Single, with the carer amount (£238.00 + £48.15) | £286.15 a week |
Over a year, the basic limits are £12,376 for a single person (£238.00 × 52) and £18,889 for a couple (£363.25 × 52). A single pensioner on the full new State Pension of £241.30 a week is just over the basic £238.00 limit, but would be under the £324.05 limit if they qualified for the severe disability amount.23
What Pension Credit is and who it is for
Pension Credit is a means-tested benefit for people who have reached State Pension age and whose income falls below a minimum weekly level. In 2026/27, the Guarantee Credit standard minimum is £238.00 a week for a single person and £363.25 a week for a couple.
If your income from all sources, State Pension, private pensions, earnings, savings income and other benefits, comes in below that figure, Pension Credit tops it up to the minimum. If it is above, you receive nothing in Guarantee Credit, though you may still be eligible for Savings Credit in some legacy cases.
Up to 910,000 families entitled to Pension Credit are not claiming it, according to the latest DWP take-up estimates (2023 to 2024). Many have self-excluded based on incorrect assumptions about savings, home ownership or occupational pension income.
Guarantee Credit, the core of Pension Credit
The Guarantee Credit element is the main part of Pension Credit. It tops income up to the minimum figures above. The calculation is broadly: take the standard minimum, add any applicable additions (explained below), and subtract all counted income. If the result is positive, that is the weekly Guarantee Credit award.
Income counted includes State Pension, private or occupational pension payments, earnings and most other income. Some income is fully or partially disregarded, for example, £5 a week of earnings is normally disregarded, and earnings from self-employment or part-time work may be treated more generously in some circumstances.
Owning your home has no effect on Guarantee Credit eligibility. Home ownership is not treated as capital or income. A pensioner living in a house worth £400,000 can still receive Pension Credit if their weekly income is below the minimum.
Additional elements that can increase the award
Pension Credit is not just the standard minimum figure. Several additions can increase it significantly. The Severe Disability Addition (£86.05 a week in 2026/27) needs three things: you get a qualifying disability benefit (Attendance Allowance or Pension Age Disability Payment at either rate, the middle or highest care rate of DLA, the daily living part of PIP or Adult Disability Payment at either rate, or Armed Forces Independence Payment); no other adult normally lives with you, although some people don't count, such as someone who also gets one of those benefits, a joint owner or joint tenant, or a lodger; and nobody gets Carer's Allowance, Carer Support Payment or the Universal Credit carer element for looking after you. For a couple, both partners normally need a qualifying benefit, and the addition is £172.10 if no carer benefit is paid for either of you.
The Carer Addition (£48.15 a week) can be included where the claimant is caring for a severely disabled person, even if Carer's Allowance is not currently being received (because the claimant's State Pension might be higher than Carer's Allowance).
Housing costs can sometimes be included within Pension Credit assessments for owner-occupiers, covering some mortgage interest or certain service charges through the Support for Mortgage Interest route. Transitional protection and specific individual circumstances can also affect the total.
How savings are treated, much more gently than Universal Credit
Pension Credit ignores the first £10,000 of capital entirely. Above £10,000, each £500 (or part of £500) of additional savings is treated as £1 a week of assumed income. So savings of £14,000 would generate £8 a week of assumed income, which reduces the award by £8, not eliminates it.
There is no hard upper capital cut-off equivalent to Universal Credit's £16,000 rule. A pensioner with £25,000 in savings has £15,000 of excess above the £10,000 disregard. At £1 per £500, that generates £30 of assumed weekly income. If their other income is below the minimum, they may still qualify for a reduced Guarantee Credit award.
This is fundamentally different from Universal Credit, where £16,000 in savings typically means no award at all. Many pensioners with moderate savings wrongly assume they are in the same position as Universal Credit claimants would be.
Worked example: a single pensioner with a small pension and savings
Numbers make the top-up concrete. Take a single pensioner with £185 a week of State Pension, no other pension income, and £12,000 in savings:
| Guarantee Credit standard minimum (single) | £238.00 |
| State Pension income | −£185.00 |
| Assumed income (£2,000 over the £10,000 disregard, £1 per £500) | −£4.00 |
| Weekly Pension Credit (Guarantee Credit) | £49.00 |
Their counted income is £189 a week, so Pension Credit tops it up to the £238.00 minimum, paying £49 a week, about £2,548 a year.2 Only the £2,000 above the £10,000 disregard counts, and it counts gently: £4 a week, not a cliff edge. And that £49 is only half the story, because the award passports them into maximum Council Tax Reduction, the Warm Home Discount and Cold Weather Payments, which together are often worth more than the weekly cash. This is exactly the case people wrongly talk themselves out of because they 'have savings'.
Why Pension Credit matters beyond the weekly cash amount
Even a small Pension Credit award can trigger a package of other support that collectively makes a much bigger difference than the direct weekly payment alone.
Guarantee Credit receipt passports entitlement to maximum Council Tax Reduction, full Housing Benefit for those who still receive it, and Cold Weather Payments. It can also provide access to NHS cost help including free prescriptions, dental treatment and sight tests, as well as the Warm Home Discount.
The Winter Fuel Payment no longer depends on Pension Credit: it goes to everyone born on or before 27 June 1960, and HMRC takes it back if your own total income for the tax year is over £35,000, unless you were entitled to Pension Credit, Universal Credit, income-related ESA, income-based JSA or Income Support on any day in the qualifying week (21 to 27 September 2026). But a pensioner with income just above the minimum and no Pension Credit award still misses the other passported support, such as Cold Weather Payments, maximum Council Tax Reduction and NHS cost help.
How to claim and what happens next
Pension Credit can be claimed online if you have already applied for your State Pension, by phone on 0800 99 1234 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm), or by post.5 The claim covers both Guarantee Credit and any Savings Credit in one application. If you were eligible earlier, the claim can be backdated by up to 3 months, as long as you can give your income and savings figures for that date.5
The claim process involves providing details of all income, savings, property and relevant personal circumstances. DWP may ask for supporting evidence, particularly for savings, pension income and disability-related additions.
If you are unsure whether to claim, a benefits calculator or a welfare rights adviser can give a reasonably accurate indication before you go through the full application. Many councils and charities also offer free benefit checks specifically designed for older people.
Free Pension Credit calculator 2026/27 UK (free)
Before you go
Pension Credit Claim Pack
- A one-page table of everything Pension Credit can unlock, and how to get each
- A fill-in eligibility worksheet, with worked examples
£4.99 one-off · full refund if you ask within 14 days
Paying council tax, broadband or water? See what you could save on your own bills, free. Check my bills