Pension Credit toolkit updated with 2026 to 2027 benefit and pension figures

The Department for Work and Pensions updated its Pension Credit toolkit on 6 April 2026, replacing the benefit and pension figures with those for 2026 to 2027 in English and Welsh¹. The same update refreshed two supporting documents, "Pension Credit and help for disabled people" and "Pension Credit toolkit: advice and guidance for stakeholders", added new versions of the posters, and added three YouTube videos: a Pension Credit Calculator Explainer, How to use the Pension Credit Eligibility Calculator, and a British Sign Language video for people with hearing impairments¹.

The toolkit is a collection of materials for organisations that work with pensioners, described by the department as a way to "help older people understand how they could get Pension Credit"¹. It was first published on 16 August 2013 and has been revised repeatedly since¹.

The page does not set out the new 2026 to 2027 rates themselves. The most recent income thresholds shown in the update history date from 10 May 2023, when the toolkit stated that someone over 65 who reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016 could still qualify for Pension Credit if their weekly income was less than £240.90 for a single person and £351.45 for a couple¹. The page also records that on 4 December 2023 the average weekly amount of Pension Credit was revised from over £67 to over £75¹. The 2026 to 2027 equivalents have not been reported on this page.

Two earlier changes remain in the toolkit. On 20 November 2024 the estimated number of pensioner households entitled to Pension Credit but not claiming it was changed from 850,000 to 760,000¹. On 14 July 2025 the advice and guidance document was amended to remove mention of Winter Fuel Payment and add mention of heating costs under the section headed "They'd get so little it's not worth claiming", with the page noting that entitlement to Winter Fuel Payment no longer depends on entitlement to Pension Credit, while entitlement to Pension Credit can help with support for heating costs¹.

The toolkit also covers extra amounts for disabled people and carers, including Carer Support Payment, added in January 2024, and Scottish Adult Disability Payment, added in July 2023¹. The page directs users who need an accessible format to email accessible.formats@dwp.gov.uk¹.

Why it matters for households

Pension Credit tops up the weekly income of people over State Pension age on low incomes, and the toolkit is the material that advisers, councils and community groups use when telling older people about it¹. The figures published on 6 April 2026 are the ones those organisations will quote for the 2026 to 2027 year, so the amounts pensioners are told they might receive, and the income levels at which a claim becomes possible, change with this update¹. The department's own estimate is that 760,000 pensioner households may be entitled to Pension Credit but do not claim it, a figure set in November 2024¹. Because entitlement to Pension Credit can also open access to support with heating costs, the removal of the Winter Fuel Payment link in July 2025 changed how that help is described to pensioners¹. The toolkit also covers help with rent and the position of mixed age couples, whose Pension Credit rules changed on 15 May 2019¹.

What happens next

The page records no further scheduled update. Its update history shows figures have previously been revised in April or early May to follow the start of the benefit year, with the 2025 to 2026 figures added on 7 April 2025 and the 2024 rates on 8 April 2024¹.