Pension Credit Is the Benefit That Unlocks the Others — Including a Free TV Licence
- Pension Credit tops a single person’s weekly income up to £238, or a couple’s joint income to £363.25.
- You can get it even if you have savings, other income, or own your own home — the most common reason people wrongly assume they cannot.
- It is also the qualifying condition for Housing Benefit, Council Tax Reduction, Cold Weather Payments, Support for Mortgage Interest, the £150 Warm Home Discount and a free TV licence at 75 or over.
- The Winter Fuel Payment for winter 2026-27 is £100 to £300 for people born on or before 27 June 1960, paid automatically to most.
- The amount depends on your circumstances in the qualifying week, 21 to 27 September 2026.
- If your total income is over £35,000, HMRC takes it back through your tax code. Your partner’s income does not count.
- If you are already repaying the 2025 payment, your tax code changes in January 2027 to collect 2026 as well — about £30 to £33 more tax a month on gov.uk’s own example.
- In Scotland there is no Winter Fuel Payment. The equivalent is the Pension Age Winter Heating payment.
Pension Credit tops a single person’s weekly income up to £238. That is not the main reason to claim it.
The main reason is the list of other things it qualifies you for — including a free TV licence if you are 75 or over, which on its own can be worth more than a modest top-up.
What it unlocks
gov.uk lists these as also available if you get Pension Credit:
| What | When |
|---|---|
| Housing Benefit | If you rent the property you live in |
| Council Tax Reduction | Through your local council |
| A free TV licence | If you are aged 75 or over |
| Cold Weather Payments | Winter Heating Payments in Scotland |
| Support for Mortgage Interest | If you own the property you live in |
| Warm Home Discount | A £150 discount on energy bills |
This is why Pension Credit is worth checking even when the top-up sounds small. Someone whose income is a couple of pounds below the threshold gets a couple of pounds a week — plus, potentially, all of the above.
Who can claim
You need to be over State Pension age and on a low income. Pension Credit is separate from your State Pension, and it can also help with housing costs such as ground rent or service charges.
The thing that stops people claiming. gov.uk states plainly that you can get Pension Credit even if you have other income, savings, or own your own home. The assumption that owning a house or having money in the bank rules you out is the single most common reason people do not check.
You might get more if you are a carer, severely disabled, or responsible for a child or young person.
The guide covers England, Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland is administered separately.
How much
Pension Credit tops your weekly income up to:
- £238 if you are single
- £363.25 if you have a partner — that is joint income
On top of that:
| Extra | Per week |
|---|---|
| If you are severely disabled | £86.05 |
| If you are a carer | £48.15 |
| For each child or young person you are responsible for | £69.98 |
| — first child, if born before 6 April 2017 | £81.07 |
| If a child gets certain disability benefits | £37.93, or £118.46 at the higher rate |
There is also Savings Credit, a separate part worth up to £17.96 a week for a single person and £20.10 for a couple. gov.uk notes you might still get some Savings Credit even if you do not get the main Guarantee Credit part — so a “no” on one is not a “no” on both.
Winter Fuel Payment
£100 to £300 for winter 2026 to 2027, if you were born on or before 27 June 1960.
Most people get it automatically. A letter arrives in October or November saying how much, and most eligible people are paid in November or December 2026.
The amount depends on your circumstances in the qualifying week — 21 to 27 September 2026:
| Situation | Born 28 Sep 1946 – 27 Jun 1960 | Born before 28 Sep 1946 |
|---|---|---|
| You live alone, or nobody you live with is eligible | £200 | £300 |
| You live with someone else eligible, neither on Pension Credit | £100 | £150 |
| You or your partner get Pension Credit | £200 | £300 |
| You live in a care home | £100 | £150 |
Two mixed-age cases sit outside that table. If you were born between 1946 and 1960 and live with someone born before 28 September 1946, you get £100. The other way round — you born before 28 September 1946, them between 1946 and 1960 — it is £200.
Note the third row. Getting Pension Credit does not just add its own money; it moves a couple living together from the £100/£150 band to the £200/£300 band.
The clawback
This is the part almost nobody knows, and it is not our inference — it is on gov.uk.
If your total income is over £35,000, HMRC takes the Winter Fuel Payment back. Usually through your tax code; through your tax bill if you file Self Assessment.
Your partner’s income does not count towards your total. A household well over £35,000 between two people can still keep the payment if neither individual crosses it.
And the recovery stacks. Because it runs a year behind the payment:
- January 2027 — if HMRC is already collecting your 2025 payment, your tax code changes to start collecting the 2026 one as well.
- The cost, on gov.uk’s own example: approximately £30 to £33 more tax each month if your payment is £200 in both years.
- April 2027 — unless you opt out, your tax code changes again to continue collecting 2026 and start collecting 2027 in advance.
You can opt out. gov.uk offers it explicitly for people over the threshold, or for anyone who simply does not want the payment. If you are comfortably over £35,000, opting out is the difference between a tidy tax code and three years of recovery running through it at once.
Scotland
There is no Winter Fuel Payment in Scotland.
The equivalent is the Pension Age Winter Heating payment, which is administered separately. If you live in Scotland, the amounts and rules above do not apply to you — the Pension Credit section does.
Key dates
| When | What |
|---|---|
| 21–27 September 2026 | Winter Fuel Payment qualifying week — your circumstances now set the amount |
| October or November 2026 | Letter arrives saying how much |
| November or December 2026 | Most eligible people are paid |
| January 2027 | Tax code changes for those over £35,000 already repaying 2025 |
| April 2027 | Tax code changes again — 2027 collected in advance, unless you opt out |
One warning gov.uk carries on its own page. You may get calls, emails or messages pretending to be from a government service and asking for bank details or passwords. Most eligible people never need to apply for the Winter Fuel Payment at all — which is worth remembering before responding to anything that asks you to.
The bottom line
Check Pension Credit even if you think you earn too much, own your home, or have savings. gov.uk says none of those rules you out.
And if your income is over £35,000, look at the Winter Fuel Payment opt-out before January, because the alternative is watching two years of it come back out of your tax code at once.
All rates and rules from gov.uk’s Pension Credit and Winter Fuel Payment guides, read on 6 September 2026. The State Pension and pensioner income tax are covered separately.