THOUSANDS of pensioners should urgently claim pension credit now to qualify for energy bill help this winter.
Millions of households are eligible for the £150 Warm Home Discount but thousands still have time to qualify before the deadline passes.
The Warm Home Discount is available to those on the lowest incomes to help with rising costs.
However, don't need to apply to get the cash and you'll automatically qualify if you are receiving certain benefits including pension credit.
Energy suppliers will automatically dish out the payment, worth £150 this year, as long as you were receiving pension credit on or before Sunday, August 21.
However, if you later launch a successful claim for pension credit, you may still be able to qualify after this date.
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This is because your eligibility for certain benefits can be backdated.
So if you make a claim now you could be in the qualifying period for the Warm Home Discount.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), who's overseeing the scheme, will send you a letter in October to confirm if you'll get the payment later on in the year.
And payments for the £150 Warm Home Discount scheme will likely begin from December.
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It's up to individual energy companies to decide when they will give their customers the discount.
How do I secure the discount if I missed the deadline?
There's a trick you can follow to become eligible for the payment even though the deadline has passed.
Pension credit rules all allow first-time claimants to backdate their benefit entitlement by three months.
So you'll need to launch your claim by Friday, November 18 and then successfully get it backdated to cover the August 21 Warm Home Discount qualifying date.
Thousands are missing out on pension credit – so launch claims now
According to the DWP, over 850,000 pensioners are missing out on £1.7billion worth of pension credit payments.
These payments can add an extra £3,300 to an average pensioner's annual income.
You can start your application up to 4 months before you reach state pension age.
Applications for pension credit can be made on the government website or by ringing the pension credit claim line on 0800 99 1234.
You’ll need the following information about you and your partner if you have one:
- National Insurance number
- Information about any income, savings and investments you have
- Information about your income, savings and investments on the date you want to backdate your application to (usually 3 months ago or the date you reached State Pension age)
Pension credit tops up your weekly income to £182.60 if you’re single or £278.70 if you have a partner.
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You may get extra amounts if you have other responsibilities and costs.
For example, if you have a severe disability you could get an extra £69.40 a week or if you care for another adult you could get an extra £38.85 a week.
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