Guide · 5 minute read · Updated 10 Jul 2026

What benefits am I missing? Pension Credit, Council Tax Reduction and more

More than £20 billion of UK benefits goes unclaimed every year, mostly because people assume they will not qualify or do not know the support exists. A ten-minute check with a benefits calculator is one of the highest-hourly-rate things you can do with your time. Here are the ones most often left on the table.

Pension Credit: the one that unlocks others

If you are over State Pension age and on a low income, Pension Credit tops your weekly income up to a guaranteed minimum: £238.00 a week if you are single and £363.25 for a couple in 2026/27. Hundreds of thousands of eligible pensioners never claim it, often because they think a small private pension or modest savings rules them out. It usually does not.

The bigger point is that Pension Credit is a gateway. Getting even a small amount can passport you to help with your Council Tax, a free TV licence if you are 75 or over, cost-of-living help, and the Winter Fuel Payment. Missing it can mean missing all of them.

Disability and carer benefits are not means-tested

These do not care about your savings or income, which is exactly why people wrongly assume they cannot claim.

• Personal Independence Payment (PIP) helps with the extra costs of a long-term health condition or disability if you are under State Pension age. In 2026/27 the daily living part is £76.70 or £114.60 a week, and the mobility part is £30.30 or £80.00. It is paid whether or not you work.
• Attendance Allowance is the equivalent for people over State Pension age who need help with personal care, worth £76.70 or £114.60 a week. It is one of the most under-claimed benefits in the country.
• Carer's Allowance is £86.45 a week if you care for someone at least 35 hours a week, are not earning more than £204 a week after deductions, and the person you care for gets a qualifying disability benefit.

Help with bills and children

• Council Tax Reduction (also called Council Tax Support) is run by your local council and can cut your bill by up to 100% depending on income. It is separate from the automatic 25% single-person discount, and both can apply. Our guide on council tax reductions and arrears goes into detail.
• Healthy Start gives you a prepaid card worth £4.65 a week for each child, or £9.30 a week for a baby under one, to spend on milk, fruit, vegetables and vitamins, if you are on a qualifying benefit and pregnant or have a child under four.
• Free childcare in England now runs from when a child is nine months old until they start school, up to 30 funded hours a week for working parents, worth thousands a year.

Check in ten minutes

The reliable way to find what you are owed is an independent benefits calculator: the free tools at Turn2us and entitledto, or Policy in Practice's checker, ask a few questions and estimate everything at once, including the interactions you would never spot by hand. They are anonymous and take about ten minutes. If you are working age and on a low income, start with the Universal Credit guide, then put whatever you find into our budget planner to see the difference it makes.

Common questions

How much in benefits goes unclaimed in the UK?

Estimates put unclaimed income-related benefits and support at more than £20 billion a year. The most commonly missed are Pension Credit, Council Tax Reduction and Attendance Allowance, largely because people assume savings or income disqualify them when they often do not.

Can I get PIP if I work?

Yes. Personal Independence Payment is not means-tested and does not depend on whether you work, how much you earn, or how much you have saved. It is based purely on how your health condition or disability affects your daily living and mobility, and is worth up to £114.60 a week for daily living plus £80.00 for mobility in 2026/27.

What is Pension Credit and who qualifies?

Pension Credit tops up the income of people over State Pension age to a guaranteed minimum, £238.00 a week for a single person and £363.25 for a couple in 2026/27. A small private pension or modest savings usually does not rule you out, and claiming can unlock Council Tax help, a free TV licence at 75, and the Winter Fuel Payment.

How do I check what benefits I can get?

Use a free, anonymous benefits calculator such as Turn2us, entitledto or Policy in Practice. You answer a few questions about income, savings and circumstances and it estimates everything you may be entitled to at once, including combinations you would not spot yourself. It takes about ten minutes.

Guidance and education, not regulated financial advice.