Dental Charges for retired 77 year old

MiniMoon

Sorry to disappoint you, but to get free or reduced rate NHS dental treatment you have to be in receipt of pension credit.
My practice charges £23 for a check up and £42 for a filling.
Last time I went (in March) I paid £65 for filling gand check up.

The above post is not entirely correct. Please be careful how you answer questions about benefits. You may stop someone from applying for something they are eligible to receive

If you receive Pension Credit, you will receive the full amount of the NHS Low Income automatically.

However, if you are on a low income but above the level of Pension Credit, you can still apply for help from this scheme and may get a proportionate amount of help.

If you are on Pension Credit that is all a dentist needs to know. You will be able to have certain treatments for free. You can, however, choose to pay if something is not on that list. You may want a white filling rather than a metal (free) one for example. Your dentist will explain this.

If you are on an eligible low income but above Pension Credit, you will be sent a certificate telling you how much the government will contribute towards various treatments - not just dental ones. This is the Certificate Number they are asking for. You need to be proactive and apply for this as only certain benefits, including Pension Credit, act as "Gateway" benefits that automatically put you on the full amount.

Apparently there are or were two types of pension credit. One savings PC and the other gaurenteed PC. It is the later which gives you free dental entitlement. All very confusing.

There also two NHS certificates - HS2 and HS3. HS2 means there are no charges and HS3 means there are reductions. There also full exemptions for pregnant women (which I'm assuming the OP isn't) and free prescriptions and eye tests for people with certain medical conditions, such as diabetes and those over 60.

You are right Travelsofar. It is Pension Guarantee Credit that is a gateway benefit. It doesn't get any less complicated, does it?

Another complication is that Pension Guarantee Credit and Pension Saving Credit are now Legacy Benefits. You can only claim them if you reached State Pension Age before 6 April 2016. This doesn't stop you from applying for NHS Low Income though, it just stops it being automatic on the basis of the Guarantee Credit.

I'm not sure HS2 is always sent out, Growstuff. I do know I have seen letters saying that you only need to show the most recent letter saying you get Pension Guarantee.

I could be wrong on this or it could have changed, of course, or they may send them out if triggered by a different benefit.

being automatic on the basis of the Guarantee Credit.

being automatic on the basis of the Guarantee Credit unless you are on the old State Pension.

Which country are we talking about? I was wondering if the OP lived in Scotland or Wales where there might be different policies on charging.

If you go to the government links in some of the posts annodomini they set out where there is a different procedure for the different countries.

a friend of mine who was an asylum seeker used to have a certificate to get free treatments.
not sure what it was called.
but it was v bureaucratic. had to be renewed often. but difficult to get another form to fill in. was told to go to a job centre to ask. the guard wouldn't let her in as she didn't have an appt there.
anyway she has now been granted refugee status.
no one told her, but i said she may now not be entitled to rely on that certificate for free scripts.
she said that's fine, it's a small price to pay.

Do you get pension guarantee credit if your pensions are enough for you to pay tax then DaisyAnne this lady says she is over the tax threshold
It’s all very confusing

I did doubt it BlueBelle, but it's always worth checking on an online calculator. I wish I knew more than I do as the logic sometimes escapes me .