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State Pension age for women
If you were born before 6 April 1950, your State Pension age is 60
If you were born on or after 6 April 1950 but before 6 December 1953, your State Pension age will be somewhere between 60 and 65, depending on your date of birth.
If you were born on or after 6 December 1953 but before 6 April 1978, your State Pension age will be somewhere between 65 and 68 depending on your date of birth.
If you were born on or after 6 April 1978, your State Pension age will be 68.
State Pension age for men
If you were born before 6 December 1953, your State Pension age is 65.
If you were born on or after 6 December 1953 but before 6 April 1978, your State Pension age will be somewhere between 65 and 68 depending on your date of birth.
If you were born on or after 6 April 1978, your State Pension age will be 68.
According to the charity, Age UK, nearly three million people over 65 are struggling financially, while government figures show that 1.9 million pensioners are living on a low income. Despite this, the benefits targeted at older people often go unclaimed.
The government estimates that up to 1.4 million pensioners do not claim one of the most important benefits for the retired - pension credit - with up to £3.3 billion unclaimed every year. The average amount unclaimed is significant – £2,000 per family, according to the Department for Work and Pensions. Other benefits that also go unclaimed by older people include housing benefit and council tax benefit.
Most people born after 1950 won't be able to claim their state pension until their mid-60s, and many are expected to work up until that point, there are some benefits that are available from the age of 60…
Free prescriptions and sight tests
Once you reach the age of 60, any medicine prescribed by a doctor is free anywhere in the UK. Until that age, prescriptions are free in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, but those living in England pay £8.80 per prescription.
To get your free prescriptions, make sure you tell the chemist at the till and fill in the back of the prescription. You will have to show proof of your age. You will also receive an invitation every two years to be screened for bowel cancer, while an additional one-off bowel scope screening test is being introduced from the age of 55.
Free bus travel
If you live in Wales, Northern Ireland or Scotland, you can get free bus travel if you're over 60 - although Scotland is currently consulting on raising the age from which you receive free bus travel. In Northern Ireland, you may get cheaper rates on other sorts of public transport, too.
If you live in England, you will have to wait longer for free bus travel. You can get a bus pass for free travel when you reach the female state pension age, whether you’re a man or a woman.
Also, from the age of 60, you will be eligible to buy a Senior Persons Railcard from National Rail for travel across Great Britain, which gives you a third off all off-peak rail travel for a year for £30.
Benefits for people who are looking for work
If you're unemployed and looking for work, you must be under State Pension age to get Jobseeker's Allowance. If you are over State Pension age, you may be able to claim Pension Credit instead. If you are an unemployed man under 65 but over the State Pension age of a woman born on the same day as you, you can choose to claim Pension Credit instead of Jobseeker's Allowance and you will not have to sign on as unemployed
Check out these sites for lots more information
At Nannies 4 Grannies Ltd we offer Companion Care and Support for residents in St Albans, Harpenden and the surrounding areas.
Contact Kay on 01727 857988 to discuss the range of specifically tailored services we can provide for you or an elderly loved one. For full details go to our website Nannies 4 Grannies. Stay up to date with older issues by following us on Twitter or Facebook
We have invested in a training course with ‘Extend’ to be able to deliver chair based exercises to you individually or in a group environment. Our mission is to promote health, increase mobility and independence, improve strength, co-ordination and balance and to counteract loneliness and isolation.
