Pension Credit eligibility: 910,000 pensioners may not be claiming – here’s what it’s really worth
An estimated 910,000 eligible pensioners miss out on Pension Credit, a top-up that reaches £238 a week for singles and £363.25 for couples in 2026/27. Here is how to check your eligibility, claim the boost, and what the £1,500 figure really means.
Key points
- Money Saving Expert estimates about 910,000 of 2.3 million eligible pensioners do not claim Pension Credit
- The 2026/27 guarantee level is £238 a week for a single person and £363.25 for a couple, about £1,574 a month
- Pension Credit is worth £4,300 a year on average and can unlock the £150 Warm Home Discount and a free TV licence at 75 or over
- Eligibility depends on State Pension age and income, not on a birth year; savings above £10,000 count as assumed income
Almost a million pensioners may be missing out on Pension Credit, a top-up that lifts weekly income to £238 for a single person and £363.25 for a couple in 2026/27. The £1,500 figure in circulation is not an extra payment. It is roughly the monthly income level for couples, which works out at about £1,574, according to figures reported by Wales Online. Pension Credit eligibility turns on your age and income, and being born before 1960 is not a test in any source we reviewed.
Money Saving Expert said: “About 2.3 million are eligible for Pension Credit, but it’s estimated that around 910,000 don’t claim – in many cases because they don’t realise they could be entitled to it.” The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is the body that decides each award.
What the £1,500 figure means for pension credit missing payments
Pension Credit is a top-up, not a flat sum. Its Guarantee Credit part raises your weekly income to a set minimum, and you receive the difference between what you already have and that level. Wales Online, citing Birmingham Live, reported the 2026/27 levels as £238 a week for a single person and £363.25 for a couple, which Due to You also lists as the Standard Minimum Guarantee.
Spread across a month, the couple’s level comes to about £1,574, which is where the £1,500-plus figure comes from. That is the total income you are brought up to, not the amount you are paid. Many people will receive far less than the headline, and some more if they have a disability, caring duties or certain housing costs.
Rates have risen since last year. The table below compares the weekly levels reported by the Daily Mirror and Cornwall Live with the 2026/27 levels. The percentage change is our own calculation.
| Weekly guarantee level | 2025/26 | 2026/27 | Rise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single person | £227.10 | £238.00 | £10.90 (4.8%) |
| Couple | £346.60 | £363.25 | £16.65 (4.8%) |
On average, Pension Credit is worth an extra £4,300 a year, Money Saving Expert said. The DWP has previously estimated that more than 700,000 eligible people do not claim, as reported by the Daily Record, so the size of the gap depends on who is counting.
Pension credit eligibility age requirements: who can claim
To get Guarantee Credit you must have reached State Pension age, which the Mirror gave as 66. Wales Online describes the missing claimants as people over 65. Check your own State Pension age on GOV.UK rather than relying on a birth year.
Income counts the State Pension, other pensions, earnings and most benefits. Savings and investments of £10,000 or less are ignored, but above that every £500, or part of £500, is treated as £1 of weekly income, according to the Mirror and Due to You. Attendance Allowance, Personal Independence Payment, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction do not count as income.
Savings Credit is a smaller extra for people who reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016. Due to You puts its maximum at £17.96 a week for a single person and £20.10 for a couple in 2026/27. People who reached State Pension age on or after that date cannot claim it.
One catch affects couples. Cornwall Live reported that since May 2019 a couple where one partner is under State Pension age is treated as a working-age couple. They cannot claim Pension Credit until both partners have reached State Pension age.
A worked example: what a claim could be worth
These examples are our own illustrations, built on the 2026/27 levels, not DWP case studies. Take a single pensioner with £210 a week in total pensions and £12,000 in savings. The £2,000 above the £10,000 limit counts as £4 of weekly income, giving assessed income of £214. Against the £238 guarantee, the top-up is £24 a week, or £1,248 over 52 weeks.
Now take a couple with combined pension income of £330 a week and savings under £10,000. The gap to £363.25 is £33.25 a week, or £1,729 a year. Both awards are well below the £4,300 average, but the money is not the whole story.
Even a small award can open other doors. Wales Online lists the £150 Warm Home Discount and, for people aged over 75, a free TV licence. The Mirror and Due to You add help with Council Tax and heating costs. Due to You estimates that a household on even £1 a week can miss out on £3,000 to £6,000 a year in these linked entitlements, though that is its own estimate.
How to claim the Pension Credit boost and what to do now
Start with the Pension Credit calculator on GOV.UK, which gives an estimate in a few minutes. You can also claim by phone on the helpline, 0800 99 1234, open from 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. Have details of your pensions, savings and bank account to hand.
The sources we reviewed give no closing date for claims, so there is no deadline to wait for. Delay does cost money, though, because Due to You says awards can be backdated by up to three months only if you were entitled throughout that period. The DWP aims to process new claims within 50 working days, about ten weeks, and the Mirror reported that nearly 78% met that goal. Payments are made every four weeks.
If you have an older relative or neighbour who is not online, offering to make the call with them may be the most useful step. Many people assume savings or owning their home rule them out, according to the Mirror, and Due to You describes assuming savings disqualify you as the biggest single driver of non-claims. Pension Credit has no savings cap, only the assumed income above £10,000.
Your questions answered
How much money can you have in the bank and still claim Pension Credit?
There is no upper savings limit, according to Due to You. Savings and investments up to £10,000 are ignored, and above that every £500 counts as £1 of weekly income. For example, £11,000 counts as £2 a week, the Mirror said. Whether you still qualify depends on your total income against the guarantee level.
Do you pay Council Tax if you get Pension Credit?
Pension Credit does not automatically wipe out the bill. The Mirror and the Daily Record report that it can unlock help with Council Tax, and Due to You names Council Tax Reduction among the entitlements it passports you to. Ask your local council what you would receive.
Does being born before 1960 matter?
Not on its own. The sources we reviewed set eligibility by State Pension age and income. Your birth year only matters indirectly, because it determines your State Pension age and whether you reached it before 6 April 2016, which affects Savings Credit.
How much do most retirees live on per month in the UK?
The sources do not give an average figure for retirees’ spending or income. They do show the benchmarks: the full New State Pension was £230.25 a week, or £921 every four weeks, in 2025/26, according to Cornwall Live. The Pension Credit guarantee for a single person is £238 a week in 2026/27.
How this article was produced
This story was researched, written and fact-checked by the Reported.News AI newsroom and edited by Alexander Ingram, our AI Money desk editor. Every claim is checked against the sources listed below. Our Editors, Jack Shaw, James Smith, Matthew Price and Suzy Eaton, oversee everything we publish. Read how we report.
Verification status
Sources (4)
- 910,000 born pre-1960 miss out on £1,500 Pension Credit boost (Wales Online, 11 Oct 2026)
- DWP pensioners urged to check if they're eligible for £4,300 boost (Daily Mirror, 4 Jul 2025)
- Pension Credit 2026/27: rates, eligibility, calculator and how to claim (Due to You, 18 Apr 2026)
- Millions of pensioners could boost income by up to £10,000 (Cornwall Live, 10 Jul 2025)
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Desk View · Opinion · Alexander Ingram (AiMoney)
The £1,500 headline is misleading, and the real story is better. Pension Credit is a top-up, and many awards will be modest. Yet the linked help, from the Warm Home Discount to Council Tax support, is where much of the value lies. With estimates of non-claimants ranging from 700,000 to 910,000, the DWP and councils should make claiming simpler. Meanwhile, a ten-minute calculator check costs nothing, and it is worth doing for a relative too.
Opinion from our AI money desk, based on the verified facts above. This isn't financial advice.
Does the corrected headline better reflect that Pension Credit is a top-up, not a flat payment, and does the standfirst clarify what the £1,500 figure means?