Pension credit getter than state pension

[Asosbabe]

£218.50 pension credit a week plus £300 winter fuel payment works out more than full state pension £221.20. AIBU to think it should be means tested properly if they're going to do it. Someone who has paid national insuance for 35 years will be worse off than someone who hasn't paid in at all

Don't think so. Possible I've misunderstood but I think if your income is less than £218.50 a week they will top you up to that. You'd get it if you didn't have enough fully paid up years of contributions to get that much state pension.

Notamum, pension credit is for people with an income lower than £218.15 a week. The full new state pension is £220 a week, so if you receive the full pension you won't be entitled to pension credit

You have to be quite old to get £300 - I think it's over 80.

Pension credit taking you up to £218.50 a week plus £200pa winter fuel allowance (so less than £4 a week averaged out) doesn't take you over the new state pension of £221.20 by more than a few pence.

But there is a problem with taking the administratively cheap option of using pension credit as a gateway benefit - there are so many people with tiny occupational pensions who can't get pension credit and therefore are worse off than if they didn't have any occupational pensions.

I thought that would happen when they introduced the new state pension. I thought they'd increase pension credit and late the state pension wither with below inflation increases. But no, they upped the state pension to a level too high to get pension credit, so now we have two generations of pensioners, those over 70-ish who are still on the old state pension, and those under 70, who get 25% more in state pension.

Factors in that include having no access to a workplace pension and working part-time and/or in low-paying jobs and therefore not being able to afford contributions. It wasn't till I was about 40 that you were able to contribute to a pension if you worked part less than 16 hours a week. And when there was less child care around, many women were working less than 16 hours a week to fit in around school hours.

If i was on the breadline I'd not be saving funeral money, You don't need to save anything for your funeral at the expense of heating, the state won't just chuck your body on the local tip.

If you are on a low wage and struggling to make ends meet, there really, really isn't. I think that should be made much clearer, although I understand why governments don't want to do so.

You're both right.
If you're on the old state pension only, you can get pension credit. Or if you're on the old state pension with a tiny occupational pension
If you're on a reduced state pension (old or new), and with any occupational pension, pension credit can make up your earnings to £218.50.
If you're on the new state pension, not reduced, you're already over the limit and won't get it.

Absolutely disgusting those who have paid full NIC's get less than those who have not. Pension credit £218.15 plus £6 per week fuel allowance and free council tax. Plus access to local government hardship fund plus free dentist care. Work hard all your life and lose out under Labour. They hate those who work hard and plan ahead for their own retirement. RR an absolute disgrace. I can't see Labour getting more than 1 term. They always punish workers/tax payers whilst giving hand outs to those who did not prepare adequately for their own old age.

I really don't understand why a sizeable proportion of people on Mumsnet still believe that people without private pensions have made an active choice to rely solely on the state pension. I'm in my 60's and do have occupational pensions, because I was fortunate to work in places where this was available - not professional , but 'white collar' work. Do some people not realise that for huge swathes of lower income working class people there was no such thing as occupational pension? And that ordinary workers would not have had the income to take out private pensions? Private pensions tended to be taken out by better off business owners - the garage owner rather than the mechanics for example. Auto enrolment for all workers is such a recent development, and for low earners will result in a tiny supplement to state pension anyway, because their monthly percentage contributions will be so low. Low earners in this country are struggling to provide for day to day needs, there's scarcely enough for that, never mind paying into an additional private pension. Why are so many unwilling to accept this? Do they prefer to think of those financially worse off as scroungers? I'm quite fed up with some attitudes expressed on Mumsnet.

What local government hardship fund? What free dentistry? You do realise the Tories were in power for 14 years and Labour for less than four weeks? As a pensioner I’m happy for my unnecessary winter fuel allowance to go, it’s a bit sad for the foodbank I used to donate it to.

nu Labour created the situation with low pay subsidized by tax credits.

But it’s the expectation from the public that everything comes for free that is perpetuating it.

It’s the sign of a braindead public that the default answer to everything is to ask for more freebies and pretend that someone else will pay for everything. Not more nuclear power stations to lower energy bills. Not lower taxes to attract more corporations like ROI. Not more infrastructure spending but protests against building instead.

That is correct but claiming PC makes you eligible for other benefits like no council tax, free TV licence, free dental care, access to hardship funds from local councils that those on just pension don't get. A very very bad message to send out to people. Do nothing to plan for your own retirement and you will be better off than those who work and pay full NIC's.

With the exception of fuel allowance it was the same under the tories. There has always been the pension credit cliff edge.

If you claim benfits you get NI credits so I assume the majority of people on pension credit will be older pensioners on the smaller old style pension or people whose circumstances meant they did not get NI credits.

We are back in the realms of ‘it doesn’t pay to work hard’ for the lower paid working class.
You work all your life, pay into a pension and you are still worse off than someone who hasn’t

What free TV license, they have to pay for that now.
They pay council tax too, and get the 25% discount if single.

Where I live there are cost of living hardship funds made available by Hunt to be distributed to people who apply but you must be on benefits to apply. They have been available each year since COVID. Pension Credit applicants welcome. If you're on a basic state pension, so fully paid up NIC's you can't apply as State Pension not counted as a benefit when it suits the local government. If you claim PC which is counted as a benefit, you get free NHS dentistry if you are on State Pension you don't get it. If you're on PC you get completely free council tax, if you're on State Pension you have to pay council tax, If on PC you get free TV licence if on state pension you don't get it. How come you don't know any of this? Labour government has been in power 5 minutes and RR immediately stopped people on State Pension getting fuel allowance of £300 for over 80's but you guessed it those on PC will get it. You might not need it or want it but many pensioners literally just have a State Pension so about £3 better off than those on PC but worse off as none of the perks being on PC benefit brings. Now they will see those on PC be better off than they are. What a kick in the teeth for them by Rachel Reeves. There should be a set amount of Income before winter fuel denied.

Except you won’t. You only get a free TV licence if you’re over 75, NHS dentists are like unicorns and the local government hardship fund finishes on 30 September and is extremely unlikely to be extended. Council tax is rarely paid in full and it’s discretionary.

We are not discussing people like you who are obviously comfortable and don't need it, we are discussing those folks that are on the cliff edge and will be getting less than those on pension credits when they don't get the fuel allowance.

The same for middle class - if you have a penny to spare it's going to be taken from you and your kids. Why to bother?

No, my MiL pays no council tax as on PC. If you claim SP you get 25 percent discount on council tax.

But.... there is no link between earnings and what state pension you get. You just need 30 years of NI credits. You could get those form 30 years of claiming benefits couldn't you?

A quick google says between 26-28% of UK pensioners only have the state pension to live on. That's a lot of people, not a few. I guess if they receive the old state pension then they will get some means tested top ups and of course if they're disabled then they could have attendance allowance but that's to pay for extra care.

It comes to something when you’re middle class and it doesn’t pay to work for retirement either 😕