WATCHING live TV without a licence can land you in hot water, but you could be entitled to a discounted – or even free – licence.
The price of a TV licence rose from £159 to £169.50 a year in April. This fee can be paid in one sum or in quarterly or monthly instalments.
You don’t need a TV licence to watch pre-recorded programmes or use streaming services, but if you’re watching live television, it’s illegal not to have a licence.
If you do watch live TV without a licence, you could be fined up to £1,000 if you’re caught.
But, there are ways to cut the cost of your licence or even claim a free one – so it’s worth checking if you’re eligible before forking out.
You can claim a free TV licence if you’re 75 or older and either receive Pension Credit yourself or live with a partner who gets Pension Credit.
You can apply for a free licence when you’re 74, but will still have to pay until the end of the month before your 75th birthday.
You can apply for your free licence online or by calling 0300 790 6071.
You could be eligible for a discounted TV licence if you live in residential care or sheltered accommodation, or if you’re registered blind.
If you live in sheltered accommodation or residential care and are over 60 or disabled you can get a licence for just £7.50.
Your housing manager should be able to check if you’re eligible and will apply for you.
If you’re registered blind, or live with someone who is, you’re in line for a 50% discount.
The licence must be in the name if the person registered blind, but if your existing licence is not in their name you can make an application to transfer it.
You can apply for the discount on the TV Licensing website.
Pension Credit is extra money to help with living costs.
It’s available to those who are over the state pension age of 66 and on a low income.
Pension Credit tops up your weekly income to £218.15 if you are single or to £332.95 if you have a partner.
It can also help with housing costs such as ground rent or service charges.
Pension Credit is separate from your State Pension and can be claimed even if you have other income, savings or own your house.
And, if you’re a carer, are severely disabled or are responsible for a child or young person, you could be entitled to extra help.
To be eligible for Pension Credit, you must live in England, Scotland or Wales and have reached State Pension age (currently 66).
You must include your partner on the application if you live together and to be eligible you must have both reached state pension age or receive housing benefit for people over state pension age.
To be eligible, your income must be below £218.15 if you’re single, or £332.95 jointly if you’re applying with a partner.
Income includes State Pension, other pensions, earnings from employment or self-employment and most social security benefits.
Some benefits are not included such as:
If you’re entitled to a personal, state or workplace pension and you have not claimed it yet, the amount you’d expect to get still counts as income.
If your income is above the threshold, you could still be eligible if you have a disability, you care for someone, you have savings or have housing costs.
Savings under £10,000 will not affect your Pension Credit, if you have more than £10,000, every £500 over £10,000 counts as £1 income a week.
You can start your application for Pension Credit up to four months before you reach State Pension age.
To apply you’ll need to provide your National Insurance number, information about any income, savings and investments you have, and your bank account details.
If you live with a partner you’ll also need to provide their details.
You can apply online here or by calling 0800 99 1234.
Pension Credit tops up your weekly income to £218.15 if you’re single, or £332.95 jointly if you have a partner.
You may get extra amounts if you have other responsibilities and costs.
If you have a disability, you could get an extra £81.50 a week if you receive any of the following:
You could get an extra £45.60 a week if care for another person and you receive:
If you and your partner have both claimed or are getting Carer’s Allowance, you can both get this extra amount.
You could also get an extra £66.29 a week for each child or young person you’re responsible for, increased to £76.79 a week for the first child if they were born before 6 April 2017.
The young person must normally live with you and be under the age of 20.
If they’re aged between 16 and 20 they must be studying for GCSEs, A-Levels or similar, or be in approved training.
If the child or young person is disabled you could claim an extra £35.93 a week.
Pension Credit can also be granted to help with housing costs if you pay ground rent on a leasehold, service charges or site rents.
If you receive the Guarantee Credit part of Pension Credit, you can also get help with NHS costs.
AT the moment the current state pension is paid to both men and women from age 66 - but it's due to rise to 67 by 2028 and 68 by 2046.
The state pension is a recurring payment from the government most Brits start getting when they reach State Pension age.
But not everyone gets the same amount, and you are awarded depending on your National Insurance record.
For most pensioners, it forms only part of their retirement income, as they could have other pots from a workplace pension, earning and savings.
The new state pension is based on people’s National Insurance records.
Workers must have 35 qualifying years of National Insurance to get the maximum amount of the new state pension.
You earn National Insurance qualifying years through work, or by getting credits, for instance when you are looking after children and claiming child benefit.
If you have gaps, you can top up your record by paying in voluntary National Insurance contributions.
To get the old, full basic state pension, you will need 30 years of contributions or credits.
You will need at least 10 years on your NI record to get any state pension.
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