DWP Pension Credit key update as pensioners only have hours left to claim £3,900

Pensioners are being encouraged to claim for Pension Credit before the December 21 cutoff in order to qualify for Winter Fuel Payments.

The government has controversially scrapped Winter Fuel payments for any elderly people not receiving the Department for Work and Pension (DWP) benefit Pension Credit. But pensioners can still apply for Pension Credit before Saturday December 21, and if successful they will then be able to receive the Winter Fuel Payments.

Almost half of all claims (49.3%) of applications made between April to December this year were successful, according to Thisismoney.co.uk, so making an application has been worth it for many people. The uptake in Pension Credit varies across the country.

Just 11.5% of people on the state pension in the UK were also receiving Pension Credit in May of this year, according to new figures from the House of Commons. In the Appleton neighbourhood of Warrington, however, just 1.0% of the area’s pensioners are also receiving Pension Credit.

That’s the lowest proportion outside of Scotland where the devolved government has said it will keep up Winter Fuel Payments. By contrast, almost all of the pensioners in Aldershot Town in Hampshire (95.9%) are on Pension Credit so will still receive the Winter Fuel Payment.

You can see how many people are set to miss out in your neighbourhood by using our interactive map here:

Pensioners not claiming Pension Credit

(% of pensioners not on Pension Credit)

Acocks Green East: 1281 (80.6%) Acocks Green West: 682 (77.3%) Allens Cross: 742 (78.5%) Aston Park: 313 (49.3%) Attwood Green & Park Central: 225 (51.1%) Balsall Heath East: 342 (55.7%) Balsall Heath West & Kingswood Road: 347 (53.1%) Bartley Green & Shenley Fields: 716 (77.4%) Belchers Lane & Eastfield Road: 469 (65.7%) Billesley Common: 793 (76.2%) Birches Green: 984 (81.5%) Birchfield East: 549 (63.2%) Birchfield West: 490 (57.9%) Bordesley: 604 (54%) Bordesley Green North: 268 (55.9%) Bournville East & Stirchley West: 897 (86.2%) Bournville West: 1197 (86.8%) Brandwood East: 780 (81.9%) Brandwood End: 992 (84.6%) Brandwood North: 1156 (90.2%) Bromford: 357 (70.7%) Brookvale: 716 (80.9%) Buckland End: 1005 (76.8%) California: 877 (82.7%) Castle Bromwich East: 1281 (95.5%) Castle Bromwich West: 1252 (90.7%) Castle Vale: 1069 (73.6%) Central: 114 (75%) Chester Road: 1902 (85.2%) Cotteridge: 1025 (88.4%) Digbeth: 112 (45.2%) Druids Heath: 633 (73.5%) Edgbaston North: 1063 (83.6%) Edgbaston South & University: 985 (95%) Erdington Town: 664 (76.4%) Five Ways North: 183 (55.3%) Five Ways South & Calthorpe Park: 617 (71.7%) Fox Hollies: 633 (72.2%) Frankley: 1025 (75.9%) Glebe Farm: 598 (69.7%) Gravelly Hill & South Erdington: 945 (72.5%) Greet & Sparkhill South: 705 (66.1%) Hall Green Central: 929 (86%) Hall Green East: 665 (76.6%) Handsworth East: 748 (77.3%) Handsworth South: 556 (61%) Handsworth West: 472 (64.5%) Handsworth Wood: 1391 (84.9%) Harborne East: 1048 (90.6%) Harborne West: 1647 (90.6%) Hawkesley: 796 (72.2%) Hay Mills & Tyseley: 536 (75.2%) Highter's Heath & Maypole: 1057 (88.4%) Hockley & Jewellery Quarter: 220 (52.4%) Hodge Hill: 790 (82%) Kent's Moat: 678 (74.9%) King's Norton: 1355 (90.1%) Kings Heath: 939 (87.6%) Kings Heath Park & Stirchley East: 872 (80.5%) Kingshurst: 779 (83.5%) Kingstanding North: 1075 (92.6%) Kingstanding South East: 861 (73.4%) Kingstanding South West: 986 (88.7%) Kitts Green: 804 (76.1%) Ladywood - Summer Hill: 245 (66.6%) Lifford & Walkers Heath: 729 (85.2%) Little Bromwich: 364 (58.1%) Longbridge North: 1399 (90.4%) Longbridge South: 1053 (81.5%) Lozells East: 257 (44.5%) Lozells West: 346 (48.6%) Lyndon Green: 1087 (89.9%) Metchley: 743 (77.2%) Middlemore: 628 (65.6%) Moor Green & Cannon Hill: 675 (79.3%) Moseley: 757 (81.7%) Moseley Village: 924 (74.4%) Nechells: 277 (56.5%) New Oscott: 1863 (91.9%) North Central & Dartmouth Circus: 262 (48.4%) Northfield Victoria Common: 1386 (91.7%) Old Oscott: 651 (82.3%) Perry Barr & South Hamstead: 981 (86%) Perry Beeches East: 744 (86.2%) Perry Beeches West: 1096 (89.8%) Perry Common - College Road: 842 (69.7%) Pype Hayes Park: 1118 (80.8%) Queslett: 931 (84.4%) Quinton East: 729 (73.7%) Quinton Ridgacre: 1286 (88.1%) Rotton Park: 873 (82.6%) Rubery East: 891 (88.5%) Saltley East: 393 (51.4%) Saltley West: 308 (51.9%) Selly Oak: 219 (81.4%) Selly Oak Park & Lodge Hill: 1044 (87.6%) Shard End & Kingfisher: 753 (73.8%) Sheldon North: 975 (76.1%) Sheldon South: 1540 (89.4%) Shenley Lane: 1279 (88.7%) Short Heath: 768 (77.7%) Small Heath Park: 370 (50.8%) Smith's Wood North: 616 (78.7%) Smith's Wood South: 844 (83.2%) Sparkbrook North: 292 (42.5%) Sparkbrook South: 285 (48.1%) Sparkhill North: 363 (52.9%) Springfield & Hall Green West: 995 (75.6%) Stechford: 812 (77.8%) Stirchley North & Selly Park: 884 (86.1%) Stockland Green - Marsh Hill: 753 (79.4%) Summerfield: 465 (59.6%) Turves Green: 975 (77.3%) Upper Witton: 607 (77.9%) Wake Green East & Moseley Bog: 1284 (86.6%) Ward End & Bromford West: 756 (72.7%) Washwood Heath: 386 (56.%) Weoley Castle: 792 (77.8%) West Heath: 1261 (91.1%) Winson Green & Gib Heath: 515 (61.9%) Woodgate: 1038 (82.1%) Woodgate Valley: 948 (80.1%) Yardley: 1044 (81.4%) Yardley Fields: 553 (67.8%) Yardley South: 791 (85.6%) Yardley Wood East: 1148 (89.2%) Yardley Wood West: 685 (75.4%) Who is eligible for Pension Credit?

To successfully get Pension Credit in the UK, you need to meet the following criteria:

You must have reached the State Pension age, which is currently 66 or older You must live in the UK Your weekly income should be below £218.15 if you’re single, or £332.95 if you’re in a couple. If you have a disability or caring responsibilities, you might still qualify with a slightly higher income If you have savings and investments over £10,000, each £500 above this amount counts as £1 in additional income per week when calculating eligibility. For example, if you have £11,000 in savings, this counts as £2 income a week

Pension Credit is made up of two parts:

Guarantee credit which tops up your weekly income to the minimum guaranteed level Savings credit – is a small top-up for people who reached state pension age before 6 April 2016 who have a modest amount of income or savings

You can apply for Pension Credit online on the Government's website, by calling 0800 99 1234, or by printing out and filling in a paper application form. You can get a friend or family member to ring for you, but you'll need to be with them when they do.