08 April 2019
Mayor Sadiq Khan, is urging couples who are currently entitled to Pension Credit to submit their applications before a governmental change on 15 May 2019.
The change, which is part of the Universal Credit rollout, means that people of pension age will no longer be able to claim Pension Credit if their partners are not also of state pension age. Instead, they will be restricted to applying for Universal Credit, which is likely to leave them worse off each year.
The state pension age is currently sixty-five for women and men. It is estimated 40,000 pensioners in mixed-age relationships in the UK will be affected by the change. Claiming Universal Credit instead of Pension Credit could leave these couples with £7,000 less in payments each year.
Currently, people of state pension age may be eligible for Pension Credit if they are:
A single pensioner on less than £167.25 a weekPart of a couple on less than £255.25 a week
Mixed-age couples already claiming Pension Credit should not be affected by the change. However, if there is a break in their claim (for example, their income increases to over the Pension Credit threshold or another change in circumstance), they will be unable to receive Pension Credit in the future.
The Mayor is urging older Londoners to find out it if they are entitled to Pension Credit or Housing Benefit and claim for everything they are entitled to.
Anyone who misses the deadline to claim Pension Credit by 15 May 2019 and is entitled to Universal Credit is still encouraged to apply.
