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Making a claim for people over 60

Anyone can claim Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit (or both), but in order to qualify they must be:-

- The person in the household who is liable to pay rent or council tax (or both) for that property

- Living in the property

- Have less than £16,000 in savings and investments (unless you are a pensioner receiving Guaranteed Pension Credit)

You can claim Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit (or both) directly from us. Customer Services Officers are available at our offices if you need help with your application. Alternatively you can make an appointment for someone to call you to make an application over the phone or you can complete an online application using the link from our homepage.

If you claim for Pension Credit, you will also receive a Housing and Council Tax Benefit claim form (HCTB1). You will need to fill in this form and send it back to the Pension Service, who will pass it to us.

What information do you need to work out my benefit?

When you claim Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit, we need to know:

- Your income and savings, unless you are on Pension Credit;

- Your family circumstances, including details about who lives with you ; and

- Your rent, but only if you are claiming Housing Benefit.

You will need to provide evidence of your and your partner's National Insurance number and identity (proof of who you are, for example, with a passport, birth certificate or driving licence), unless you are on Pension Credit

What counts as income?

If you get Pension Credit, either Guarantee Credit or Savings Credit (or both) we will not need any details about your income. For everything else, we need to know about any income you or your partner get. When you claim you will need to provide proof of all of your income.

Types of income are:

- Your state pension;

- Any pension from your or your partner's previous employer;

- Annuities(an income that you receive from an amount you have invested with an insurance company);

- Other state benefits such as Working Tax Credit and Incapacity Benefit;

- Any rent you receive from lodgers or subtenants; and

- Maintenance you receive from a former partner; and

- Earnings, wages or salary from your job. We will need to see your last five payslips (if you are paid every week) or last two payslips (if you are paid every month). Don't worry if you haven't got any payslips- you can ask us to contact your employer.

The claim form asks you about all the income you get. When we work out your benefit we work out your gross earnings less tax, National Insurance and half of any pension contributions you make.

What counts as savings?

If you do get Pension Credit, either Guarantee Credit or Savings Credit (or both) we will not need any details about your savings. For everything else, we need to know about any savings you or your partner have. When you claim you will need to provide proof of all your savings.

This includes:

- Bank accounts (all types), building Society accounts and post office savings;

- PEP's, TESSA's and ISA's;

- Stocks, shares, and unit trusts;

- National Savings Certificates;

- Cash;

- Property or land you own (but not the home you live in).

If you and your partner are over 60, we will not count the first £6000 of your savings or investments (or both). If you have more than £6000, we will add £1 a week to your income for every £500 or part of £500 you have over £6000. so if you have £7600, we will count that as an extra income of £4 a week. You cannot get benefit if you have savings or investments (or both) which are more than £16,000 unless you receive Guarantee Credit.

If you receive Guarantee Credit you will automatically get full Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit (or both) even if you have savings over £16,000

If you do not get Guaranteed Credit and you have savings over £16,000, you will normally not be entitled to Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit.

What about other people who live with you?

To work out your benefit, we need to know who else lives with you.

If you have a child you do not get child benefit for, or other adults living with you, you may get less Housing Benefit or |Council Tax Benefit (or both). We will assume they pay towards your rent and Council Tax, even if they do not.

When will my benefit start?

If you claim Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit (or both) we may backdate your benefit up to 52 weeks before the date you claimed. We can only do this if you have to pay rent and Council Tax for this period and are entitled to claim. If this is the case, we may write to you to ask for further details.

If you are in doubt, send your claim form to us straight away (even if you are waiting for supporting documents- information we need to process your claim, such as bank statements, proof of rent or wage slips), or you may lose benefit. You should also send us your claim form if you are still waiting to hear about your Pension Credit

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Other pages you may find useful

• Council tax - annual notification (PID 57)
• Backdating Housing and Council Tax Benefit (PID 62)