British pensioners, including expats in pricey retirement destinations such as Majorca, could be in line for a welcome state pension boost worth £2,991 a year in addition to their foreign state pension.
It’s due to a change to the state pension system implemented eight years ago which means millions of retirees are being paid less than they need to cover their living costs.
But state pensioners born at a certain time could be entitled to a £2,522 windfall, plus some addition benefits – just by making a simple claim.
Those who reached retirement age prior to 2016 – men born before April 6, 1951 and women born after April 6, 1953 – are paid £169.50 by the basic state pension.
People in this bracket would have reached retirement age before April 2016 and been put on the old basic state pension system paying which pays a total of £8,814 annually.
The new state pension system is more generous, worth £221.20 per week, or £11,502 per year, according to the Majorca Daily Bulletin.
But though it’s not possible for older pensioners to switch from the old basic state pension to the new state pension, they are able to top up their weekly income to almost the same amount through Pension Credit.
This allows claimants to up their payments to £218 a week, or £11,336 in total, an anually top of of £2,522 per year if you’re on the older basic state pension and your weekly income would otherwise be less than that.
The £300 Winter Fuel Payment available to people on Pension Credit is available to people on the new system, taking the benefits to £2,822 with the £169.50 value of the free TV license you’re entitled to taking it up to £2,991.50.
This doesn’t include any possible council tax discounts or housing benefit you may also be entitled to depending on where you live in the country.
You can find out whether you’re elible and claim using the Pension Credit hotline on 0800 99 1234.
Pensioners may also be able claim a foreign state pension as well as the new State Pension in the UK.
According to the UK Government website, your claim for the new State Pension depends on how many qualifying years you have in your National Insurance record and the countries you’ve lived or worked in.
You usually need 10 qualifying years on your National Insurance record to be eligible but could still make a claim if you made contributions to the state pensions in:
- the European Economic Area (EEA) – this includes any country in the EU as well as Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein
- Switzerland
- any country that has a social security agreement with the UK
You could also be eligible if you’ve lived in:
- Canada
- New Zealand
- Australia, before 5 April 2001
You can find out more about benefits you could be entitled to here.
