Claiming your benefits

Pension Credit is an income-related benefit that comes in two parts and you may be eligible for one or both:

About 4 million older people are entitled to Pension Credit, yet about 1 in 3 of those eligible are still not claiming it.

• Guarantee Credit tops up your weekly income to a guaranteed minimum level.
• Savings Credit is an extra payment for people who saved some money towards their retirement.

Even if you’re only eligible for a small amount of Pension Credit, it’s a passport to other benefits, such as Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction.

Find out more at Gov.uk

You can claim by calling the Pension Credit Claim Line on 0800 99 1234 (textphone: 0800 169 0133)

You may be eligible for help with your Council Tax bill. As part of the welfare reforms, councils now run their own Council Tax Reduction schemes (sometimes called Council Tax Support).

The support you get may depend on factors such as which benefits you receive, your age, your income, savings, who you live with and how much Council Tax you pay. You can apply whether you own your home or rent.

Housing benefit is help towards paying the rent for your home. You can claim housing benefit if you rent from a housing association or a private landlord. Housing benefit is means-tested, which means the amount you get will be calculated based on the amount of your income, savings and household circumstances.

Claims for both of these benefits are made through your district council:

Aylesbury Vale District Council

• Find out more
• Phone: 01296 585618
• Email: benefits@aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk

Chiltern District Council

• Find out more
• Phone: 01494 732077
• Email: benefits@chiltern.gov.uk

South Bucks District Council

• Find out more
• Phone: 01895 837515
• Email: benefits@southbucks.gov.uk

Wycombe District Council

• Find out more
• Phone: 01494 421 325
• Email: housingbenefit@wycombe.gov.uk
• Benefits calculator