Benefits & Money Advice

There are a variety of means-tested, non-means-tested benefits and schemes available for older people and Age UK’s info guide More money in your pocket (IG43) summarises these, the criteria and how to apply. Benefits can be complicated and depend on your individual circumstances. We can complete benefits checks and offer benefits advice for people over State Pension age - contact our Information & Advice team for a free benefits check where we look at all of these and other schemes to help save you money.

Means-tested benefits like Pension Credit, Housing Benefit and Council Tax benefit take into account most of your income and a 'deemed' income from any capital you have over £10,000 and compare this to government-set figures for your circumstances to see if you're eligible. There isn't necessarily a set threshold for savings or income; it depends on your individual circumstances. 

If you’re a carer or disabled then you may be eligible for non-means-tested benefits or extra premiums that increase your eligibility for means-tested benefits.

Our AUKW Money MOT explains other schemes to help you save money or increase your income, such as NHS Low income scheme, tax allowances and non-means-tested Council Tax Discounts

See our dedicated Money and Benefits page for more information and ideas. We understand that benefits can be complex and we can give further advice on specific enquiries if needed. 

Attendance Allowance (AA) is a non-means-tested disability benefit for older people from the government to help pay for the extra costs of having long term disability or health problems. Receiving Attendance Allowance can also increase eligibility for the means-tested benefits and could mean someone becomes entitled when they weren’t before. Age UK’s info guide Attendance Allowance (IG49) has more information. The number to request a form is the DWP 0800 731 0122 (requesting the form by phone means it can be backdated to the date of the call).

We’ve produced a AUKW guide to completing Attendance Allowance forms. We can also arrange a free telephone appointment or limited home visit if needed – contact our Information & Advice team to arrange a referral. We may also be able to help with Disability Living Allowance (DLA) forms

Additionally, if someone has difficulties with personal care then they could consider contacting the Local Authority’s adult social care team to request a free care needs assessment. This is an assessment of a person’s ‘eligible needs’ and can help because it provides a report of what the needs are and how these could be met (a care plan) and the cost of meeting the needs (a personal budget amount), which can be a good basis for arranging care and support. Adaptations costing £1,000 or less must be provided free of charge by the local authority if they are as agreed as meeting eligible needs. The local authority may also be able to contribute towards care package fees and larger adaptations, depending on the outcome of a separate financial assessment. If you have an informal carer, like a partner, they can ask for their own Carer's Assessment to get help.  More information is available in Age UK's info guide Getting help at home (IG23)

• Wiltshire Council Adult Social Care:   0300 456 0111
• Swindon Borough Council Adult Social Care:   01793 445 500   

Benefits can be complicated to claim and it can be disheartening to be turned down or be told that you’ve been overpaid. You should be notified in writing of the decision (a ‘decision letter’ or ‘overpayment letter’) which tells you what your options are for challenging the decision. Age UK has a factsheet FS74: Challenging Welfare Benefit Decisions with more detail. 

You can ask for written statement of reasons for the decision to help you put a case forward to challenge the decision; sometimes the decision letter uses standard wording that may not relate specifically to your claim or does not include a breakdown of relevant dates. You must usually challenge the decision within one month of the date on the original decision notice so don’t delay! 

Challenging a benefit decision can be complicated and our advisers can sometimes help with challenging benefit decisions, such as helping you to write a mandatory reconsideration letter.

Did you know a successful Attendance Allowance (AA) claim can increase entitlement to means-tested benefits for yourself or someone that cares for you? This is because additional premiums like ‘severe disability premium’ and ‘carer’s premium’ can apply to the benefit calculation to increase entitlement, or mean you become entitled for the first time. You could become entitled to a non-means tested Council Tax Discount or Exemption. 

Age UK's info guide More money in your pocket (IG43) summarises these. Benefits can be complicated and depend on your individual circumstances - contact our Information & Advice team for a free benefits check where we look at all of these and other schemes to help save you money.

The extra money from Attendance Allowance aims to help people maintain their independence and improve the quality of their lives, although the money can be spent as one wishes. If you’re considering arranging or paying for help, services or equipment you can find information about these in our other FAQs. 

If you provide informal care for someone else regularly then you may be eligible for extra financial help as a carer, such as Carer's Allowance, Carer's Premium or a Carer's Council Tax Discount. Usually the person you care for must first be receiving a qualifying disability benefit, such as Attendance Allowance. There is more information in Age UK's info guide Carer's Allowance (IG52). 

Important: If someone is paid Carer's Allowance this can negatively impact the cared-for person’s benefits; we advise that the cared-for person has a benefits check first so they can consider all options. 

Carer's Allowance is worked out differently for people over State Pension age. If you receive a State Pension you cannot normally be paid Carer's Allowance itself because of overlapping benefit rules, but you can still have the carer premium if you meet the other criteria. If you already receive a means-tested benefit then a carer premium can increase your entitlement. If you don’t get a means-tested benefit then premiums can mean you become entitled for the first time (as it increases the income thresholds for being eligible).

Additionally, you may be able to access other support as an informal carer  - for example a free a Carers assessment. There is more information about these in Age UK’s info guide Advice for carers (IG13). There is a local scheme Carer’s Together Wiltshire tel: 01380 710300 and in Swindon there is Swindon Carer’s Centre that offer support for informal carers.

Our AUKW Grants information sheet explains options to consider for grants for unexpected bills, essential household items and white goods. We may be able to support you in applying for a grant or finding out where to access one. 

For boiler replacements or energy efficiency measures Wiltshire Warm & Safe (Tel 0800 038 5722) provide a comprehensive free energy advice service including • Advice on eligibility for various energy grants • Advice on insulation, heating and draft proofing • Advice on understanding your fuel bills, managing fuel debt and switching energy tariffs.

Our AUKW Spread the warmth leaflet has information about local and national grants to help with the cost of keeping warm in winter - in particular we can support with applications for Wiltshire Surviving Winter Grant and complete a free income maximisation check to ensure that you are receiving all the benefits that you are entitled to.

Age UK’s info guide Save Energy Pay Less (IG30) has tips to reduce costs and use energy more efficiently.

The Citizens Advice website has information about the various government cost-of-living schemes available from the government.

Pension Credit: The Golden Ticket!

Pension Credit is a means-tested benefit for older people. This means it’s based on your income and your savings. Not only does it give you more income each week; entitlement to Pension Credit gives you access to other benefits, including a free TV licence!

By claiming Pension Credit you could become entitled to:
• Help with NHS costs such as prescriptions,dental treatment, glasses and transport costs for hospital appointments.
• A Cold Weather Payment of £25 when the average temperature in your area is 0°C or below for seven days in a row between 1 November and 31 March.
• A discount on your water bill.
• If you rent your home, you may get Housing Benefit to help towards paying your rent.
• If you pay Council Tax, you get could help to pay it with Council Tax Reduction payments.
• If you are a carer or have a disability, you could get an extra amount of Pension Credit each week.

How do I claim?
Call the Pension Credit claim line on 0800 99 1234. (textphone: 0800 169 0133) or apply online www.gov.uk/pension-credit/how-to-claim . You’ll need to have the following details to hand:
• Your National Insurance number
• Your bank account details
• Information about your income, savings and investments
• Information about your pensions (if you have any)
• Details of any housing costs (such as mortgage, interest payments, service
charges) and your partner’s details (if you have a partner).

You may be able to backdate your claim by up to 13 weeks so make sure you ask about this when you apply!

A will can ensure that your money, property, possessions and investments (known as your estate) go to the people and causes you care about. There is more information in ‘Age UK’s info guide Wills and estate planning (IG31). The national charity Free Wills Month produce a free downloadable will planner to help you plan your will.

A Power of Attorney is a way of giving someone you trust the legal authority to make decisions for you, if you can’t make them yourself – or if you don’t want to. You can only make one if you have the mental capacity to do so and haven’t been put under any pressure. The person making a power of attorney is known as the ‘donor’, the person(s) appointed to help are known as ‘attorneys’.  There are 2 types and you can opt to make one or both: ‘Property and financial affairs’ and ‘Health and Welfare’. There is more information, including where to get the forms and the registration process and fees in Age UK’s info guide Power of Attorney (IG21). 

We offer a free Legal affairs service - free telephone appointments with a specialist volunteer to help you understand more about the areas of Wills, Power of Attorney and Dealing with an estate. Appointments must be booked in advance. Please note this does not constitute legal advice

If someone is having difficulty with managing their affairs because of their health, and it’s having an impact on other parts of their daily living then they could be eligible for other help. There is a non-means-tested benefit called Attendance Allowance (IG49) to help with the extra costs of having a long-term health condition or disability and people may be entitled to a free care needs assessment from the local authority adult social care team to get some aids and equipment fitted free of charge or other support. You can read more about these in Age UK’s guide Getting help at home (IG23).  To request a free care needs assessment contact:

• Wiltshire Council Adult Social Care:   0300 456 0111
• Swindon Borough Council Adult Social Care:   01793 445 500 

Resources: 

Age UK National manage Age UK products rather than local partners - if you would like to purchase Age UK products /insurance or are an existing Age UK customer, please contact the Age UK products helpdesk. 

For personal alarms and stairlifts, we also have a dedicated impartial information sheet with a list of suppliers and things to consider, including Age UK options - see our FAQ 'I need equipment at home'. 

Age UK Wiltshire are not able to provide debt advice or other legal advice outside the areas of our core topics.

The Citizens Advice website has lots of information, and a dedicated free Consumer helpline: 0808 223 1133.

Resolver is a free online tool for supporting with understanding your rights and making a complaint to various companies and organisations

If you are concerned about a possible scam Age UK’s info guide Avoiding Scams (IG05) has tips and explains the steps to take if you suspect or need to report one.