How much Pension Credit you can get is the gap between your weekly income and £238 (single) or £363.25 (couple) in 2026/27, plus extra amounts.
There is no single payment to look up. Pension Credit is a top-up, so the sum depends on what else comes in each week and on whether extra amounts apply for disability, caring, children or housing costs. Below are the 2026/27 figures, then how income, savings and pension pots are counted.
Your own number rests on details a page cannot see. The free official routes are the GOV.UK calculator and the Pension Service helpline, both covered below. If you would rather have the pension, savings and benefit sums talked through, one option is the form on this page. Filling it in is free, and a firm of FCA-authorised advisers then telephones you.
The weekly figure Pension Credit tops you up to
The main part of Pension Credit is called Guarantee Credit. It tops weekly income up to a set level, known in the official rates as the standard minimum guarantee:
| Your household | Weekly figure, 2026/27 |
|---|---|
| Single person | £238.00 |
| Couple | £363.25 |
(DWP, Benefit and pension rates 2026 to 2027.)
The payment is the shortfall. DWP's adviser guide (the April 2026 edition) describes Guarantee Credit as the difference between the "appropriate amount" (the standard figure plus any extra amounts) and the claimant's income, which "may include an amount of deemed income from their capital". In its first worked example Andrew, 67, has an "appropriate amount" of £238.00 and income of £208.21, which gives Guarantee Credit of £29.79 a week. Someone with income at or above the figure, and no extra amounts, gets no Guarantee Credit.
For a couple, income is calculated together, and both partners must be included in the claim; see Pension Credit for couples. Who qualifies in the first place, including the age and residence conditions, is in who can get Pension Credit. Income above the standard figure is not the end of it, because the extra amounts below raise the level being topped up to.
Extra amounts that raise the figure
GOV.UK's "What you'll get" page lists the extra amounts that make up the rest of Guarantee Credit. They are added to the standard figure before income is taken off, at these 2026/27 rates:
| Extra amount | Weekly, 2026/27 | Main condition on GOV.UK |
|---|---|---|
| Severe disability | £86.05 (£172.10 where both partners qualify) | Getting a qualifying disability benefit such as Attendance Allowance, or the daily living component of Personal Independence Payment |
| Carer | £48.15 | Getting Carer’s Allowance or Carer Support Payment, or having claimed Carer’s Allowance but not being paid because another benefit pays more |
| Each child or young person | £69.98 (£81.07 for a first child born before 6 April 2017) | Responsible for them and they live with you |
| Disabled child or young person | £37.93 or £118.46 | Depends on which disability benefit they get and at what rate |
| Housing costs | Depends on the costs | Costs such as ground rent on a leasehold, some service charges, and tent and site rents |
Each has more conditions than a table can carry. The disability amounts are in Pension Credit and disability, and the carer and child amounts in Pension Credit for carers and with dependent children. The housing amount is for costs the Housing Benefit scheme does not cover, and it does not cover Council Tax.
DWP's second worked example shows how an extra amount works. Joyce, 74, gets a State Pension of £184.90 a week and Attendance Allowance of £114.60 a week, and has savings of £8,000. Her "appropriate amount" is £324.05, which includes the £86.05 severe disability amount. Her Attendance Allowance "does not count as income" and her savings are under the £10,000 limit, so only the State Pension is deducted, leaving Guarantee Credit of £139.15 a week. That is one set of facts, not what a reader should expect. If you get Personal Independence Payment, see how PIP and Pension Credit interact.
Savings Credit: who can still get it, and the most it pays
Savings Credit is the second, smaller part of Pension Credit. GOV.UK says you could get it only if both of these apply: you reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016, and you have put some money aside for retirement, such as a personal or workplace pension. For people reaching State Pension age since then (see the State Pension guide), Guarantee Credit is usually the whole of Pension Credit; the couple rule is below.
For those who do qualify, the 2026/27 figures are:
| Single | Couple | |
|---|---|---|
| Savings Credit starting point (weekly income) | £208.07 | £329.75 |
| Most Savings Credit a week | £17.96 | £20.10 |
DWP's adviser guide explains that the maximum is 60% of the gap between the standard figure and the starting point, and that income at or below the starting point earns nothing. Where total income is above the "appropriate amount", the Savings Credit is reduced. It can be paid with or without Guarantee Credit.
Mixed-age couples are treated differently. Where one partner reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016 and the other reaches it on or after that date, the older partner has no access to Savings Credit unless they were awarded it before that date and have remained continuously entitled since. The difference between the two parts is the subject of Guarantee Credit and Savings Credit compared.
How income and savings change the amount
GOV.UK's eligibility page lists what counts as weekly income: the State Pension, other pensions, earnings from employment and self-employment, and most social security benefits, with Carer’s Allowance as its example. Several are left out, including Attendance Allowance, Personal Independence Payment, Housing Benefit, Child Benefit and Winter Fuel Payment. A longer treatment is in what counts as income for Pension Credit.
Two rules on pensions catch people out. A personal or workplace pension you are entitled to but have not claimed still counts, at the amount you would expect to get. And a deferred State Pension is counted at the amount you would get, while the extra from deferring cannot be built up if you or your partner are getting Pension Credit. The pros and cons of waiting are in is deferring worth it?
Savings and the £10,000 line
The test on savings and investments is one line: "If you have £10,000 or less in savings and investments this will not affect your Pension Credit." Above that, each £500 over £10,000 counts as £1 of weekly income, so £11,000 in savings counts as £2 a week. DWP's adviser guide calls this deemed income, counts "£1 a week for each £500 or part of £500" over £10,000 on the capital of a claimant and partner together, and does not use the actual interest or dividends. So capital over £10,000 is assessed on its deemed income, whatever it really earns. The deemed income table starts at £1 a week for capital between £10,000.01 and £10,500.
Property, inheritance and what counts as capital have their own pages: start with savings limits for Pension Credit and inheritance and Pension Credit.
Where a pension pot fits in
Since 6 April 2015 people with defined contribution pots have been able to leave them, draw from them or buy an annuity. DWP's adviser guide for Pension Credit (April 2026 edition) sets out how each choice is treated. In outline:
- Pot left untouched. The pot is disregarded as capital, but income is assumed at the level an annuity would have paid.
- Regular drawdown. It is treated as retirement income, using the higher of the amount actually drawn and that assumed income.
- Ad-hoc lump sums. These are taken into account as capital, so they feed the £10,000 test above.
- The whole pot at once. It counts if it takes total capital over £10,000, and deemed income follows.
- An annuity. The income from it is taken into account.
That is the general position, and the assumed income on an untouched pot is the part least visible to the person holding it. How drawdown works is in the drawdown guide, annuities in the annuity guide, and the tax side of taking everything in taking money out of a pension. A pot and a possible claim can pull in different directions, so both are worth checking before money moves. Pension Wise gives free guidance on a pot (what Pension Wise is). An FCA-authorised adviser firm can look at pot, tax and benefit as one picture; there is no charge for asking through the form on this page.
Two further points. GOV.UK says you must report changes to pensions, including taking "a lump sum out of your pension pot", and that a claim "might be stopped or reduced" if you do not report a change straight away. And spending or giving away money taken from a pot is covered by the deprivation of capital rules: DWP may treat a claimant as still having capital they got rid of in order to qualify or to get more, though not where it was used to repay a debt such as a mortgage or buy something reasonable in the circumstances. See deprivation of capital before moving money around.
What else Pension Credit can open up
GOV.UK lists other help that can follow from getting Pension Credit. Some depends on which part you get, and each has its own rules:
- Housing costs and Council Tax: Housing Benefit if you rent your home, Support for Mortgage Interest if you own it, and a Council Tax Reduction.
- Heating: Cold Weather Payments (Winter Heating Payments in Scotland) and help through the Warm Home Discount Scheme. GOV.UK says you get cold weather payments automatically.
- Free TV licence: available at 75 or over if you get Pension Credit or live with a partner who does.
- NHS costs: help with prescriptions, dental treatment, glasses and hospital travel costs, if you get the Guarantee Credit part.
- Royal Mail redirection: a discount when you move house.
The Winter Fuel Payment is separate. For winter 2026 to 2027 GOV.UK sets eligibility by birth date (on or before 27 June 1960) and by usually living in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, and HMRC takes the payment back if your total income is over £35,000. It is not counted as income for Pension Credit, but the amount can differ if you live with someone who is also eligible and you get Pension Credit. In Scotland, Pension Age Winter Heating payment applies instead. The detail and current amounts are on GOV.UK’s Winter Fuel Payment page.
If you rent, the State Pension and Housing Benefit covers how pension income feeds into that claim.
Checking your own figure, claiming and backdating
GOV.UK has a Pension Credit calculator and says you "might be able to use" it for an estimate of what you could get. Its page asks you to check the eligibility rules first and to answer some questions to find out whether you can use it. There are also independent, free and anonymous benefits calculators (Turn2us and entitledto among them); they work from your savings, income, benefits and outgoings, so have those to hand. A calculator gives an estimate and the decision is DWP's.
On timing, you can start an application up to 4 months before you reach State Pension age. After that, an application "can only be backdated by 3 months", which means up to 3 months of Pension Credit in the first payment if you were eligible during that time; DWP's adviser guide adds that backdating applies only "if they were entitled for that time". When you backdate you need your income, savings and investments as they were on the start date. The Pension Service claim line is 0800 99 1234, and a friend or family member can call for you. Steps are in how to apply, the limit in backdating Pension Credit, and timing in how long a claim takes.
Questions people ask about Pension Credit amounts
How much is Pension Credit a month or a year?
GOV.UK gives Pension Credit as weekly amounts, and this page keeps to those. Payment dates and intervals are in how Pension Credit is paid, and the calculator above gives an estimate for your circumstances.
What is the most Pension Credit I can get?
There is no one maximum, because the top-up is the gap between income and a figure that changes with extra amounts. The standard figures are £238 (single) and £363.25 (couple) a week in 2026/27, and the extra amounts above are added to them where they apply.
Can I get Pension Credit if I have savings or my own home?
GOV.UK says that owning your home, or having other income or savings, does not by itself rule you out. Savings and investments over £10,000 count as deemed income, as set out above.
Do PIP or Attendance Allowance reduce it?
Neither is counted as income, and each can be the qualifying benefit for the severe disability amount. That amount has conditions, so check them in Pension Credit and disability.
Is Pension Credit taxable?
GOV.UK lists Pension Credit among the most common state benefits you do not pay Income Tax on, and lists the State Pension among those you do. How tax on the State Pension is collected is in is the State Pension taxable?
Pension Credit sits beside the State Pension, any workplace or private pensions and savings, and a change to one can move the others. Should you want all of them reviewed together by an FCA-authorised adviser firm, asking takes the form on this page and nothing is charged for it.