How to apply for Pension Credit: the number to call, what to have ready, and how to backdate it

Which number to call

DWP uses two different lines for Pension Credit, and ringing the wrong one is the commonest way to waste a morning in a queue. New claims go to the claim line. Everything about an existing claim - changes, payments, review letters - goes to the Pension Service helpline.

A British Sign Language video relay service is linked from the GOV.UK how-to-claim page. All the 0800 numbers are free from mobiles and landlines. Pension Credit in Northern Ireland is run separately by the Northern Ireland Pension Centre - start at nidirect.

Before you apply: the 15-minute checklist

Most delays happen because DWP has to write back for something you could have given on the first call. Gather these first - for you and your partner if you have one:

• National Insurance numbers for both of you.
• Bank or building society details for the account the money should go into.
• Every source of income, after tax: State Pension, workplace and private pensions (your latest statement or P60), earnings (recent payslips), any foreign pension, and any other benefits such as Carer's Allowance.
• Savings and investments: current accounts, savings, ISAs, Premium Bonds, shares and any property other than your home. Have the balances for today and for the backdate date - usually three months ago.
• Housing costs if you own a leasehold flat or a park home: ground rent and service charges.
• Disability and carer benefits anyone in the household gets - Attendance Allowance, PIP, DLA, Carer's Allowance - and whether anyone else aged 18 or over lives with you. These decide the extra amounts that make the biggest difference to an award.
• Dates of any time abroad in the last few months.

Things you do not need to add up: the value of the home you live in, your car and belongings, and Attendance Allowance, PIP, DLA, Housing Benefit and Winter Fuel Payment, which are not counted as income. A pension pot you have not started drawing is not counted as savings either - but DWP will ask about it, because once you are over State Pension age it counts the income the pot could pay you.

If you have not checked yet whether you qualify, two minutes with our Pension Credit calculator will tell you roughly what to expect - but apply anyway if it is close. The calculation is more generous than most people assume, especially with savings: see Pension Credit and savings.

Three ways to apply

1. By phone - the route most first-time claimants use

Ring 0800 99 1234, Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm. The adviser fills in the claim with you, so you don't have to know which box everything goes in, and can take a Housing Benefit claim at the same time if you rent - the Pension Service passes it to your council. Have your checklist in front of you before you ring - the adviser will go through every source of income and savings for you and your partner.

2. Online

Apply at gov.uk/pension-credit/how-to-claim. You can only use the online service if you have already applied for your State Pension. It suits straightforward claims, and you can save and come back to it. If a question doesn't fit your circumstances, stop and phone instead rather than guessing.

3. By post

Print the Pension Credit claim form from GOV.UK, or ask the claim line to post one to you. Send it to Freepost DWP Pensions Service 3 - write exactly that on the envelope and nothing else. Keep a copy of every page. Post is the slowest route, so if you are close to the edge of the backdating window, phone instead.

Applying for a parent or someone else

A relative or friend can make the call with them, or for them, and can post the form. If the person cannot manage their own money, you need formal authority: a registered lasting power of attorney for property and financial affairs, or DWP's agreement to act as their appointee, which you arrange through the Pension Service. Our guide to helping elderly parents with money covers both.

Backdating: how to get the full three months

A Pension Credit claim can be backdated by up to three months, as long as you met the conditions throughout. The arrears are paid as part of your first payment. Three things follow from that:

• Apply as soon as you think you might qualify. The window is three months from the date you claim, so every extra week of delay is a week you cannot recover.
• Be ready to describe your finances on the backdate date. DWP asks for your income and savings then as well as now - usually three months ago, or the day you reached State Pension age if that is later.
• Apply up to four months early. If you are approaching State Pension age, claim during the four months before it so the award can start on the day.

What happens after you apply

1. DWP checks your claim. It may phone or write asking for evidence - often bank statements or pension details. Send what is asked for by the date in the letter. If you can't, ring the Pension Service before the deadline and say why.
2. You get a decision letter. It shows how your award was worked out: the minimum you are allowed, the income DWP counted, and any Savings Credit. Check every figure against your own records - this is the moment to spot a missed disability or carer amount.
3. Payment starts. People who reached State Pension age after 5 April 2010 are usually paid weekly, fortnightly or every four weeks in arrears, on a payday set by the last two digits of their National Insurance number. The first payment includes any backdated amount.

How long it takes: DWP's target is 50 working days, about 10 weeks, and simpler claims are often quicker. The queue is much shorter than it was. In the year to February 2026 DWP received 209,735 claims, 36% fewer than the year before, and 11,710 were waiting to be processed - down from a peak of 85,500 in December 2024, when restricting the Winter Fuel Payment to Pension Credit claimants caused a rush of applications.

If you are refused - or the award looks too low

Around four in ten claims that DWP decided in the year to February 2026 were not awarded. Some of those were simply over the limit, but refusals and low awards are worth challenging when the facts are wrong. The commonest fixable problems are:

• A missing extra amount. The severe disability amount (£86.05) and carer amount (£48.15) are easy to miss. DWP's own error figures for 2025/26 found 4 in 100 Pension Credit claims underpaid, mostly because the severe disability amount wasn't included.
• Savings counted wrongly - for instance an undrawn pension pot, or money that belongs to someone else, counted as yours.
• Income counted before tax instead of after it, or a benefit that should be ignored, such as Attendance Allowance, counted as income.

To challenge a decision, ask for a mandatory reconsideration within one month of the date on the decision letter, by phone or in writing, saying what you think is wrong. If that doesn't fix it, you can appeal to an independent tribunal on form SSCS1 within one month of the reconsideration notice. A refusal is not permanent either: if your circumstances change - a partner dies, your savings fall, you start getting Attendance Allowance - claim again.

Once you are awarded: three jobs

1. Claim the extras that aren't automatic. Council Tax Reduction comes from your council - make sure it is in place. Over 75? Apply to TV Licensing for your free licence. Show your award letter to get free NHS dental treatment and prescriptions. The £150 Warm Home Discount and Cold Weather Payments are normally automatic. After six months on Pension Credit you can also apply for a Budgeting Loan. The full list is in our Pension Credit guide.
2. Report changes straight away on 0800 731 0469: moving home, someone moving in or out, going into hospital or a care home, any trip abroad (Pension Credit normally only continues for 4 weeks out of the country), new income, and savings going over £10,000 - or changing by £500 or more once they are above it.
3. Keep your paperwork. DWP is running a programme of Pension Credit case reviews from 2026 to 2029, and some people are being asked for recent bank statements. Our guide to the DWP Pension Credit review explains what happens and how to respond.

Free help with a claim

If the forms feel daunting, these services will help you apply, check an award or challenge a decision, at no cost:

• Age UK Advice Line: 0800 678 1602, 8am to 7pm every day of the year. Many local Age UKs will also help with the form in person.
• Independent Age helpline: 0800 319 6789, Monday to Friday 8.30am to 5.30pm.
• Citizens Advice: local offices and advisers online at citizensadvice.org.uk.
• Your council's welfare rights team, if it has one - they know the Council Tax Reduction side too.