Benefits in older age (III)

With August finally dazzling us with a reminder of how it should feel, I wrinkle my nose at its sunshine, squint at the computer screen and turn my attention to further means tested help for older people.

I looked last week at the 'Guarantee Credit' part of Pension Credit - the fairly simply calculated benefit which either tops up or replaces other income to a minimum level set by the Government.

This week I'm going to be looking at other means tested help that might be available in older age - through the 'Savings Credit' element of Pension Credit, or through Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefits.

Calculating entitlement to these is a bit more complex than straightforward Guarantee Credit, for they all have tapering mechanisms built into their workings, reducing - and finally wiping out - entitlement as people's incomes rise.

They are all, though, paid beyond the income level at which Guarantee Credit stops, so may well still be open to you even if you've been turned down for Guarantee Credit.

Savings Credit

The Savings Credit element of Pension Credit is open to any individual aged 65 or over - or to any couple where one or both people are of this age.

It exists, in theory, to reward people who have made some provision for their old age through, for example, paying into occupational or personal pensions, or putting aside some savings for a rainy day - to try to compensate for the frequently heard complaint that 'we tried to help ourselves and now we find we can't get any state help because of it'.

And it's a fair point - some of the poorest are those who live just beyond the edges of means tested help, their theoretical 'excess' income hugely devalued by the lack of passported help entitlement to mea...