Pension Credit vs Universal Credit for Mixed Age Couples

If you live with a partner and only one of you has reached State Pension age, you are what the benefit system calls a mixed age couple. The rule that matters most is simple: you cannot normally make a new claim for Pension Credit, and you claim Universal Credit instead, as a joint claim, until you have both reached State Pension age¹.

This changed on 15 May 2019. Before that date, a mixed age couple could choose whether to claim Universal Credit, Pension Credit or pension age Housing Benefit. From 15 May 2019 that choice was removed, and the age of the younger partner now decides which benefit applies³. The practical effect is that the older partner may have to wait years longer than they expected before Pension Credit becomes available, and the couple's income and savings are assessed together in the meantime.

The sections below set out how a joint Universal Credit claim works for a mixed age couple, what happens to benefits already in payment, what changes when the younger partner reaches State Pension age, and where to get free help.

Mixed age couples claim Universal Credit, not Pension Credit

A mixed age couple is one where one partner has reached State Pension age and the other has not. For this group, a new claim for Pension Credit is not available. If you are not already receiving Pension Credit and you want to make a new claim, you will need to claim Universal Credit⁷. It is now too late for a mixed age couple to make a new Pension Credit claim unless eligibility is retained through a pension age Housing Benefit claim⁸.

The same applies to the other means-tested benefits that pensioners sometimes claim. A mixed age couple cannot make a new claim for Income Support either, and the answer is the same: claim Universal Credit⁹. Pension age Housing Benefit is also closed to new mixed age couple claims, so help with rent comes through the Universal Credit housing element instead.

Age UK puts the position plainly: mixed age couples can only claim Universal Credit until they both reach State Pension age¹. Independent Age says the same in eligibility terms: if your partner is under State Pension age, you cannot claim Pension Credit or pension age Housing Benefit, and you will need to claim Universal Credit instead².

There is one narrow exception. A couple may still be able to claim Pension Credit if one of you reached State Pension age before 15 May 2019 and one of you has been claiming pension age Housing Benefit since 15 May 2019 as part of the same couple¹⁰. Outside that, the younger partner's age governs the claim.

Universal Credit as a mixed age couple: joint claim rules

A couple living together makes a single joint claim for Universal Credit, not two separate claims. You must make a joint claim if you and your partner are married, civil partners or living together as a couple¹¹. Both members of a couple are normally expected to claim together¹², and anyone living with a partner as a couple will need to make a joint claim¹³.

The joint claim means both partners' circumstances are pooled. Both of your savings and income will be taken into account even if only one of you is applying⁴. Your joint income and savings are used to work out how much you get⁴, and a partner's income is included as the combined household income for means-tested benefits¹⁴. There is one monthly payment for the household, and the two claims are linked¹⁵.

Savings matter as well as income. You can claim Universal Credit if you or your partner are under State Pension age and you have £16,000 or less in savings⁵. Capital above that level normally ends entitlement, so a couple with substantial savings may find they cannot claim at all.

The legislation allows some flexibility where one partner does not meet a basic condition but the other does. A couple may be entitled to Universal Credit as joint claimants where one member does not meet a basic condition if the other member does meet it¹⁶. In practice this is what allows a mixed age couple to claim at all, since the older partner may not meet the age condition that the younger one does.

Does the partner over State Pension age have to look for work?

No. The partner who has reached State Pension age does not have to work or look for work on Universal Credit, but the younger partner might have to⁴. Work-related requirements are set individually, so the older partner's conditionality is switched off at pension age while the younger partner's continues.

The younger partner's requirements depend on the household's circumstances, including health, caring responsibilities and earnings. They are set out in the claimant commitment, which both partners agree to as part of the claim. Where the younger partner has a health condition or disability, a work capability assessment may reduce or remove those requirements.

This split is one of the practical differences between Universal Credit and Pension Credit. Pension Credit has no work-related conditions at all, because it is designed for people who have reached State Pension age. Universal Credit, by contrast, is built around the expectation that at least one partner can work, which is why the mixed age couple rule pushes these couples onto it.

Couples already getting Pension Credit or pension age Housing Benefit

If you were already entitled to Pension Credit, pension age Housing Benefit or both on 14 May 2019, you keep that entitlement on or after 15 May 2019³. The change applies to new claims and to couples who form after the change, not to those already in payment on that date.

The protection is specific. Where a mixed age couple were entitled to pension age Housing Benefit, Pension Credit or both on 14 May 2019, they will continue to be entitled on or after 15 May 2019³. This is a savings provision: it preserves the position of couples who were already receiving the benefit when the rules changed.

That protection can be lost if circumstances change. If the Pension Credit claim ends for another reason, a new claim would have to be for Universal Credit⁸. The same applies if the couple separates and later re-forms, or if a new partner joins the household.

There is also a bereavement provision. If the surviving partner is over State Pension age, they can receive Universal Credit for the 3-month run-on period, after which Universal Credit will end and they can choose to make a new claim for Pension Credit and pension age Housing Benefit where applicable¹⁰. This gives a short window to move across to pension age benefits after a bereavement.

What happens to existing benefits when you become a mixed age couple

Becoming a mixed age couple can end benefits that were already in payment. If a single pensioner forms a couple with a person below the qualifying age on or after 15 May 2019, entitlement to pension age Housing Benefit and Pension Credit will end³. The couple then has to claim Universal Credit instead.

The same happens when a younger partner joins an existing pension age Housing Benefit claim. The Pension Credit claim will also be terminated where a younger partner joins the household after the policy comes into force³. Moving in together is therefore a change of circumstances that must be reported, and it can change which benefit the household receives.

Age UK warns that existing benefits may end and the couple may have to claim Universal Credit instead¹. The change is not optional: from 15 May 2019, mixed age couples are no longer able to choose whether they claim Universal Credit, Pension Credit or pension age Housing Benefit¹.

When both partners reach State Pension age: moving to Pension Credit

Once you both reach State Pension age, the position changes. Universal Credit stops and you may be able to claim Pension Credit or other benefits⁶. If you have both reached State Pension age, you can claim Pension Credit¹⁷. The rules changed on 15 May 2019, and that date is the dividing line for which benefit applies¹⁷.

The move is not automatic. A new claim for Pension Credit is needed, and it is worth checking at that point because Pension Credit can unlock other help. If both you and your partner are of State Pension age, you will need to claim Pension Credit instead of Universal Credit⁴. If you are both over State Pension age, you may be able to apply for Pension Credit¹⁸.

The eligibility rule is consistent across the guidance. If you live with a partner, you will only be able to claim Pension Credit now if you have both reached State Pension age¹⁹. If only one of you has reached State Pension age, you would not be able to claim Pension Credit but could instead claim Universal Credit²⁰. Both members of a couple need to have reached State Pension age in order to qualify for Guarantee Pension Credit²¹.

The technical rule is set out in the Pension Credit guidance: from 15 May 2019, a person who is a member of a couple cannot qualify for Pension Credit unless their partner has also reached the qualifying age, except where continuously entitled to Pension Credit or pension age Housing Benefit since 14 May 2019²².

Rising State Pension age and what it means for mixed age couples

The age at which Pension Credit becomes available is not fixed. Pension Credit qualifying age is increasing in line with the increasing State Pension age²³. That means the point at which a mixed age couple can move from Universal Credit to Pension Credit moves later as State Pension age rises.

The State Pension age is currently being raised from 66 to 67²⁴. For a mixed age couple, that pushes back the date on which the younger partner reaches pension age and the couple can claim Pension Credit. The mixed age couple rule that blocks Pension Credit to couples where the younger partner is below pension age remains in place²⁵.

The effect on couples has been noted in policy discussion. Previously the older partner of a mixed age couple could claim Pension Credit when reaching State Pension age; now they have to wait until the younger partner does²⁶. That can mean a gap of several years between the older partner reaching pension age and the couple becoming eligible for Pension Credit.

There is a transition provision in the legislation. Regulations were made to provide for a smooth transition between Universal Credit, State Pension Credit and Housing Benefit for pensioners where a person reaches State Pension Credit qualifying age, becomes part of a mixed age couple, or certain other changes of circumstance occur²⁵. In practice this means the move between benefits is managed rather than abrupt, but a new claim is still needed.

Where to get free help

Mixed age couple cases turn on dates and circumstances, so it is worth checking entitlement rather than assuming. Free, impartial help is available from MoneyHelper, from Age UK, from Independent Age and from Citizens Advice. Turn2us and Entitledto both provide benefit calculators that can show what a couple might be entitled to.

If a decision goes against you, there is a right to challenge it. A mandatory reconsideration is the first step, and if that does not resolve the issue, an appeal to a tribunal is possible. The Challenging a decision page sets out how that works, and Checking what you are entitled to lists free calculators and advisers.

For the wider picture on the benefits a mixed age couple might claim, see Universal Credit: who can claim and how it works and Pension Credit: guarantee credit, savings credit and what it unlocks. Help with rent is covered in Help with rent, and the rules on reporting a change of circumstances are in Reporting a change of circumstances.