Pension Credit Entitlement Issue

I worked with Pension Credit until 2 years ago. It is very complicated. The age of entitlement is linked to the age of entitlement to State Pension. And you know how complicated that has become! Also I think that if part of a couple, both parties need to be the correct age.

Pension credit is tied to the state pension. You cannot get it if you are not receiving a state pension. The state pension entitllement age for men is currently 65 but goes up to 66 in 2018.

That's not strictly true MOnica because if a man is unemployed in his 60s he is unlikely to get new employment and it may be to his advantage to claim Pension Credit before he reaches pensionable age.

If you're a man, you can claim Pension Credit when you reach the State Pension age of a woman born on the same day and in the same year as you. This is an extract from the CAB Advice Guide web site :

www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/older-people/benefits-for-older-people/#h-pension-credit

I made the mistake of using a government website. Would sooner trust CAB!

Hi

Thanks for the helpful advice. Yes, I did study the CAB Advice Guide on the subject, but I'm afraid it was too general to answer my specific question. And as I've already pointed out, the gov.uk calculator - which the Guide includes on its webpage - is completely useless in this respect. All I can do then is wait and see if anyone who knows the factual answer to my query will get back to me on this forum.

Many thanks.

Pulling the various answers above together.

I think the answer is that if he is working, it is 65 and if he is unemployed it is the current retirement age for women, which for women born between 6 April and 5 May 1953 is 6 July 2016. www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/pensions/article-1679780/New-state-pension-age-retire.html

Thanks, M0nica - yes, my friend, who is a fully qualified electrician, does happen to be is currently out of work (despite his strenuous efforts to seek employment) and his 63rd birthday does fall between 6 April and 5 May 1953 2016. This means that he may be entitled to Pension Credit, after all - but not until 6 July of this year. But that's a lot better than not being entitled to it at all. . . or else having to hang on until he's 68 - as one Government website misleadingly suggests. All in all, it's little wonder why there's such a low pickup of such entitlements, given the lack of clarity on the information side of things.

Many thanks again