Guidance updated with rates effective from 11 April 2022

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) updated its Pension Credit technical guidance on 6 May 2022 with the latest benefit rates, effective from 11 April 2022¹. The guidance, reference PC10S, is aimed at professional and voluntary advisers and at members of the public who want more detailed information about Pension Credit¹.

The same update line appears twice in the page's history: once dated 11 April 2022 and once dated 6 May 2022, both reading "Updated with the latest benefit rates, effective from 11 April 2022"¹. The page was first published on 30 September 2013 and has been revised repeatedly since, including rate updates effective from 12 April 2021, 11 April 2023 and April 2024¹.

The guidance sits alongside a separate Pension Credit guide for claimants, which the DWP directs people who currently get Pension Credit, or who want to apply for it, to read instead¹. The technical document covers what Pension Credit is, how it is worked out, the eligibility rules and the application process¹.

The update history records other changes to the same guidance over time. In 2019 the publication was revised to reflect changes to Pension Credit entitlement, including the introduction of a "child addition" part to the Guarantee Credit element for those with responsibility for a child or qualifying young person, and changes to eligibility for couples where one partner is of working age¹. A December 2023 revision brought in amendments covering partially disregarded income for Carer Support Payments in Scotland, the Victims of Overseas Terrorism Compensation Scheme, payments relating to the failings of the Post Office Horizon system, vaccine damage payments, payments relating to the Infected Blood Inquiry, and Widowed Parent's Allowance for survivors of a cohabiting relationship¹.

The page also records later rate updates: effective from 11 April 2023, April 2024, and April 2026, with the April 2026 version removing references to Income Support and Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance¹. A July 2025 revision followed changes to Winter Fuel Payment, and an October 2025 revision replaced textphone details with Relay UK details¹. The page's most recent update is dated 8 May 2026, described as "several small changes made throughout to keep information and dates up to date"¹.

The sources do not give the cash amounts of the Pension Credit rates that took effect from 11 April 2022, and no figures for standard minimum guarantee, savings credit thresholds or earnings disregards appear in the material available. Those amounts have not been reported here.

Why it matters for households

Pension Credit is a means-tested benefit for people over State Pension age on low incomes, and the technical guidance is the reference document advisers use when working out entitlement¹. A rate change effective from 11 April 2022 means the figures used to calculate an award changed from that date, so awards assessed on the new rates reflect the amounts set for the 2022 to 2023 year¹. The update was recorded on the guidance page on 6 May 2022, roughly three weeks after the rates themselves took effect¹.

Because the guidance is written for advisers rather than claimants, the practical route for a household checking its own position is the separate Pension Credit guide for claimants, which the DWP links from the same page¹. The technical document also sets out the eligibility rules and how an award is worked out, which are the parts that determine whether someone qualifies and how much they receive¹.

The page's history shows the guidance is revised whenever rates or rules change, including the 2019 changes to the child addition and to eligibility for couples where one partner is of working age, and the 2023 amendments on disregarded income and specific compensation payments¹. Households whose circumstances touch those areas are affected by the version of the guidance in force at the time their claim is assessed¹.

What happens next

The page records subsequent rate updates effective from 11 April 2023, April 2024 and April 2026, and a further revision dated 8 May 2026¹. No future update date beyond that is given in the material available¹.