Martin Lewis warns one million pensioners missing out on cost of living benefit

Martin Lewis warns one million pensioners missing out on cost of living benefitGood Morning Britain, ITV

Transcript

00:00 There's a benefit called pension credit,

00:02 which is specifically for lower income pensioners.

00:05 And on that one, you can backdate the claim

00:07 for three months, which means if you don't get pension credit

00:10 and you're eligible for it, you can still

00:13 get that extra 300 quid, even if you were to claim now

00:16 or next week or the week after.

00:18 And there are nearly a million pensioners in this country

00:21 not getting that absolutely crucial benefit.

00:24 My rule of thumb on it--

00:25 this isn't exact.

00:26 I'm not telling people whether they're eligible.

00:28 It's quite simple.

00:30 If you're a single pensioner earning less than 220 pounds

00:34 a week or you're a pensioner couple earning less than 320

00:38 pounds a week, then you should check out if you're eligible.

00:41 So that's your total income.

00:43 Call the pension credit helpline and ask them if you're eligible.

00:46 I'm not saying you will be.

00:47 I'm saying you may be.

00:49 And it's worth checking, because that

00:50 could be worth thousands of pounds.

00:52 And this current cost of living benefit payment,

00:54 you may still get it, even if you don't claim pension credit