These rates uprate every April. Anything published without a review date will be wrong by the following spring.
The Silver Line
24 hours, every day
Telephone friendship and support for older people (Age UK).
Money and entitlements
Pension Credit — Guarantee Credit
Single (weekly): £238.00
Couple (weekly): £363.25
Additions — severe disability: £86.05; carer: £48.15
Tops weekly income up to the minimum guarantee. Gateway benefit — unlocks other help.
Pension Credit — Savings Credit
Single max weekly: £17.96
Couple max weekly: £20.10
Only for those who reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016.
Attendance Allowance
Lower weekly: £76.70 · Higher: £114.60
Every 4 weeks from 6 April 2026 — £306.80 lower, £458.40 higher
Lower rate: help needed day OR night. Higher rate: day AND night, or terminally ill. Tax-free, not counted as income for Pension Credit.
Winter Fuel Payment
England, Wales, Northern Ireland
Income limit: £35,000
Qualifying week 2026: 21-27 September 2026
Important change for 2026/27: all pensioners now receive it, but HMRC claws the full amount back from anyone with income above £35,000. It is a cliff edge, not a taper: £35,000 keeps it in full, £35,001 loses it in full.
Pension Age Winter Heating Payment
Scotland
Scotland’s winter heating payment for pensioners. Use this name in Scotland — not “Winter Fuel Payment”.
Council Tax Reduction
Help with council tax, run by your local council. Rules and amounts differ by area — apply via your council (no single national figure).
