The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has received 300,000 applications from pensioners, with five weeks of the year to go.
This is almost 50,000 more than the year before, when 251,000 people applied for the financial boost – which tops up your weekly income to £218.15 if you earn below that amount.
If you are in a relationship, you will be topped up to £332.95 if your combined household income is lower.
The rises were mainly due to Winter Fuel Payments becoming means-tested for pensioners, a policy introduced by the Government in July 2024. Part of the qualifications required recipients to be on Pension Credit to claim the £200 bonus (£300 for over-80s).
Since then, 235,000 pensioners have applied for the credit – an 81% rise from the previous period in 2023/24.
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Of those claims, 117,800 were awarded to pensioners, which opened up discounts on dental care and contributions to rent through housing benefit.
Also, over-75s on the benefit can claim a free TV licence.
As well as those perks, there are less well-known benefits of Pension Credit, including a discount on Royal Mail redirection and council tax deductions.
Denied claims
With the increase in demand came a huge increase in denied claims, with 114,500 applications turned down by the DWP during the 2024/25 period – a 133% increase on the 49,100 not awarded in 2023/24.
Meanwhile, since the free Winter Fuel Payment was axed for millions of pensioners for the first time since its introduction in 1997, 65,400 more applications were rejected by the DWP compared to the previous year.
As it stands, there are 33,700 outstanding Pension Credit claims yet to be awarded or rejected by the DWP, according to its data up to 17 February 2025.
The number of claims hit their peak as pensioners tried to meet the deadline to receive the Winter Fuel Payment on 21 December, with two-and-a-half more applications sent than the average weekly count.
‘Government should be lauded… but there is a flipside’
Rachel Vahey, head of public policy at AJ Bell, said the high uptake in Pension Credit “may leave a bad taste with some”, due to the necessity to have it to be eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment.
Vahey said: “While the jump in Pension Credit claims received and awarded is significant and the Government should be lauded for its efforts to boost applications, the flipside is that there was also a jump in the proportion of claims being denied.
“As many pensioners rushed to claim in fear of losing their Winter Fuel Payment, some will not have met the criteria and subsequently been told they cannot receive payments.
“People are often encouraged to apply if they think they’re close to the threshold for Pension Credit, and there is no harm in doing so if you’re unsure, but there will also be plenty of people who applied with little knowledge of the eligibility rules, and this lack of understanding of the Pension Credit process will likely continue to be a challenge in years to come.”
Vahey added: “Pension Credit has historically been chronically underclaimed, with over a third of households who could be eligible failing to make a claim each year. This could be for a number of reasons, from a lack of awareness to difficulties in filling out forms or a reluctance to be seen as a benefit claimant. But the result is hundreds of thousands of people missing out on a vital source of income worth thousands of pounds a year on average.”
Mike Ambery, retirement savings director at Standard Life, said: “Some [pensioners] mistakenly believe that if they have some savings or their own home, they won’t be entitled to it, while others worry about a perceived stigma attached to claiming.
“We urge people above state pension age and on a low income to check their eligibility with a benefits adviser or the Government’s online Pension Credit calculator.”
