A TV and broadband expert has shared his “no-brainer” TV licence trick that could save you £169 a year.
The cost of a TV licence is set to rise in weeks so you might want to check now if you can save some cash.
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Struggling households could save on the cost of a TV licence through a little-known rule.
We spoke to Nick Baker, broadband and TV expert at Uswitch who revealed his useful tip that could provide you with some valuable savings in 2024.
To legally watch or record live TV in the UK, you must have a TV licence, which currently costs £159 a year.
However as of April 1, the price will rise to £169, so it is worth knowing if you could be exempt from paying.
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Nick said: “There are a couple of exceptions when it comes to who needs to pay for a TV licence.
“Under the current rules, those who are over 75 and receiving Pension Credit are eligible for a free licence.”
Nick added that for people in this situation applying for this is a “no-brainer” and could provide you with a handy savings boost.
You can apply for the discount on the TV licensing website or by calling 0300 790 6117.
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Meanwhile, we explain in full what Pension Credit is and how you can apply.
What is Pension Credit?
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Pension Credit is available to people over the age of 75.
The benefit tops up State Pension payments up to £201 a week – and it’s paid to those who have reached the State Pension age (66) and are on a low income.
Surprisingly there is an estimated 850,000 eligible households aren’t claiming the benefit.
You can get different amounts of Pension Credit depending on your circumstances.
There are two parts to it, and pensioners can be eligible for one or both parts:
- Guarantee credit – tops up your weekly income to a guaranteed minimum level. This is £201.05 a week if you’re single and £306.85 a week for married couples.
- Savings credit – provides extra money if you’ve saved money towards retirement. You can get an extra £15.94 a week for a single person or £17.84 a week for a married couple.
These figures will increase in April from £201.05 a week to £218.15 or for couples, from £306.85 to £332.95.
If you get the Savings Credit part of Pension Credit this will increase from £15.94 a week to £17.01 or for couples, from £17.84 to £19.04.
You can also get additional pension credit if you are disabled, have caring responsibilities or have to pay for certain housing costs such as mortgage interest payments.
For instance, you can get either £72.31 a week or £61.88 per week for each child or young person you’re responsible for.
If you have a severe disability you could get an extra £76.40 a week or if you care for another adult you could get an extra £52.75 a week.
To be eligible, you must live in England, Scotland or Wales and have reached state pension age.
But you must also have a low enough income that it needs topping up with Pension Credit.
Your income is calculated based on your state pension allowance, other pensions, your employment and self-employment earnings and some social security benefits, including Carer’s Allowance.
But not all benefits are counted as income, including:
- Adult Disability Payment
- Attendance Allowance
- Christmas Bonus
- Child Benefit
- Disability Living Allowance
- Personal Independence Payment
- social fund payments like Winter Fuel Allowance
- Housing Benefit
- Council Tax Reduction
How do I apply?
How to watch TV legally without paying for a licence
YOU can legally use the following services without a TV Licence as long as you aren’t using them to watch or stream live TV:
- On demand TV – such as catch-up TV and on demand previews, which are available through services including ITV Player, All 4, My5, BT Vision/BT TV, Virgin Media, Sky Go, Now TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku and Amazon Fire TV. You can’t watch or download programmes on BBC iPlayer without a TV licence.
- On demand movies – from services such as Sky, Virgin Media, BT Vision, Netflix and Amazon Instant Video.
- Recorded films and programmes – either via DVD or Blu-ray, or downloaded from the internet.
- YouTube – Video clips that aren’t live through services such as YouTube.
You can apply for Pension Credit up to four months before reaching state pension age.
Crucially, you can apply any time after you reach state pension age, but your application can only be backdated by three months.
This means you can get up to three months’ worth of the benefit in your first payment if you were eligible during that period.
But anything beyond that and you won’t get more than three months of backdated payments.
You’ll need some personal information to hand when you apply, including your National Insurance number, and details about your income, savings and investments.
When it comes to actually applying, you can do this online on the government’s website.
You can also apply by phone by calling 0800 991 234 or by post. The address to send your claim form to is:
The Pension Service 8
Post Handling Site B
Wolverhampton
WV99 1AN
What other benefits can I get on Pension Credit?
As well as a free TV licence for over 75’s claiming Pension Credit can open up a host of other discounts and freebies.
If you claim it, you might be able to get help with Housing Benefit, if you are in rented accommodation, and a council tax discount.
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It also makes you eligible for cost-of-living payments and the Warm Home Discount scheme.
You can find out more about Pension Credit including how to apply in our guide.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing [email protected].
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