Pension Credit tops up your weekly income to £238 if you’re single or your joint weekly income to £363.25 if you have a partner.
State pensioners born before 1960 seeing BBC TV Licences cut from £180 to £0
State pensioners born before 1960 are getting BBC TV Licences knocked from £180 to £0 – thanks to Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Pension Credit. Pension Credit tops up your weekly income to £238 if you’re single or your joint weekly income to £363.25 if you have a partner.
If your income is higher, you might still be eligible for Pension Credit if you have a disability, you care for someone, you have savings or you have housing costs.
But crucially, you must be of state pension age, the DWP says, which is 66, so born before 1960. As well as topping up your income, Pension Credit comes alongside plenty of other perks.
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MoneySavingExpert, the site founded by BBC and ITV star Martin Lewis, says: “Pension Credit also has a superpower… it’s a gateway to FREE TV licences and MUCH MORE.
“If you claim the main part of Pension Credit, you can get discounts on other bills, such as a council tax reduction (potentially worth £1,000s a year), and the Warm Home Discount (worth £150 a year).”
There are around 1.4 million Pension Credit claimants – all of whom should have seen their BBC TV Licence reduced as a result.
TV Licensing explains: “If you are aged 75 or over and receive Pension Credit, you can get a free TV Licence. The licence covers everyone living at your address. You can apply for the free licence when you are 74, but it will only start when you turn 75. Pension Credit can be in your name or your partner’s name.”
The quickest way to claim Pension Credit is via Gov.uk, or by calling the Pension Service on 0800 99 1234. It will even fill in the application form for you.
You’ll need your National Insurance number, information about your income, savings and investments and your bank account details
You can make a paper application if you’re unable to make a claim by phone. You can get a friend or family member to call the helpline to ask for a paper application.
The earliest you can start your application for Pension Credit is four months before you reach State Pension age.
It comes after the BBC TV Licence was increased to £180 for UK households at the start of this month (April 2026).