Dental Charges for retired 77 year old

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 .

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

I think you're right BlueBelle. The dentist should have checked before now. I once had an HS2 certificate, which meant I didn't have to pay anything, and I'm trying to remember how it worked. I had a plastic card, which I think I had to show every appointment.

This is a link to current NHS (England) charges:

www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/sites/default/files/2022-04/HC11%20%28V17%29%20online%2004.2022.pdf

They're quite long-winded, so I'm not surprised the OP was confused.

She was ‘offered’ free Growstuff but dentist don’t offer anything you get a form to fill in and if you DONT tick the benefit box you pays your NHS fee

BlueBalou

I get free eyesight tests because of a strong history of glaucoma in my family.
Dentist- my last check up and hygienist visit was £84 ?, not private. It’s gone up from £68 six months ago (clearly I should have been a dentist bot a nurse! ?)
I don’t understand how you’ve had 12 years of free dentistry without anyone asking for proof. I have to sign digitally the paperwork every time I visit the dentist.

She wrote that she paid reduced charges, not that it was free.

H1954

If the OP is the in receipt of state pension and occupational pension, the total of which is high enough to fall into the taxable bracket of income, then evidently they should be paying full amount for dental care.
My state pension and occupational pension are not taxed and I have to pay for my dental treatment in full.

It depends whether the OP has housing costs. If she doesn't and her income is high enough to be taxed, you're right that she should be paying full costs.

BlueBelle

Well I m not heartless sortomum but to be getting reduced dental treatment for 12 years this poster has been extremely lucky and I can t really see how it’s happened can you ?

It's possible she has had an HS3 certificate, which gives partial help with dental costs.

If the OP is the in receipt of state pension and occupational pension, the total of which is high enough to fall into the taxable bracket of income, then evidently they should be paying full amount for dental care.
My state pension and occupational pension are not taxed and I have to pay for my dental treatment in full.

I get free eyesight tests because of a strong history of glaucoma in my family.
Dentist- my last check up and hygienist visit was £84 ?, not private. It’s gone up from £68 six months ago (clearly I should have been a dentist bot a nurse! ?)
I don’t understand how you’ve had 12 years of free dentistry without anyone asking for proof. I have to sign digitally the paperwork every time I visit the dentist.

*When I check in at reception they always ask "do you have free check ups or reduced cost and I always say no not free, reduced costs.
This was as I thought after retirement sight tests prescriptions and dental tests were free*

But Jeannie that makes no sense at all if you thought they were all free why did you say ‘no not free, reduced charges’
.

When I check in at reception they always ask "do you have free check ups or reduced cost and I always say no not free, reduced costs.
This was as I thought after retirement sight tests prescriptions and dental tests were free.

Thanks for coming back Jeanie £28 sounds right for a check up but what did you mean by this …..
* I've always paid reduced charges for dental treatment*

Thank you everyone for all the information.
I was just wondering what everyone pays for the dental check up, I've been paying £28 a visit.
I've not had any major work done, just a tooth out because of an abscess some years ago.
I was told to come back in 9 months the last time I went as my teeth are in good condition, thank goodness.
I am there tomorrow morning so I'll get it sorted out them. I genuinely didn't know.
I'm certainly glad I don't pay for my prescriptions as I'm on 5 now and with an additional two when one of my conditions flares up.
I do hate this getting old but as my husbands says what's the alternative.
Thanks again to everyone.

Soroptimum ??

Charleygirl5

You would be entitled to free prescriptions- I was at 60- I do not know if the age has changed.

I also think you are entitled to free sight tests again from 60 but I am afraid you will have to pay as MiniMoon and I do, the correct NHS dental charge.

Regarding the free sight tests, that is if one goes to the optician's premises.

Home tests are only free if one qualifies due to one's circumstances.

However, one can nevertheless get a home test if one pays.

www.outsideclinic.co.uk/

At one time they had an offer that if one bought some prescription glasses the eye test became free, but I do not know if that is the case at present.

I had them several times pre-pandemic, sometimes needing glasses, delivered and fitted by them once they had been made, and sometimes not needing new glasses.

They even made me some specially calculated glasses, I am wearing them at the moment, optimised for 60 centimetres distance, which is between normal distance glasses and reading glasses, so that I can comfortably sit and use a home computer. I swap which glasses I am wearing when I start and finish a session using the computer.

Two things though, at the time there was a need to plug the unit that displays the letters in to the mains and there needed to be a three metre line of sight between the patient and that unit, though whether that has changed I do not know.

M0nica

Or be in receipt of Attendance Allowance or other disability pension, I think.

no i don't think so.
i think it has to be a means-tested benefit.
i know those in receipt of carers' allowance get nothing free or reduced.
and receive less than £10 a day.