What benefits are pensioners entitled to?
Getting older comes to us all (if we’re lucky), and for many of us, we spend much of our working lives longing for the day when we can wave goodbye to the long working hours, sit back and enjoy the finer things in life. But in actual fact, many of our pensions won’t stretch as far as we’d like to think, so it’s always a good idea to find out what we’re actually entitled to once we’ve finished our working lives.
When can you retire?
The retirement age in the UK seems to be forever creeping higher as populations are expected to live longer than ever before. Of course, you can actually stop working and “retire” whenever you like! But the official retirement age in order to receive your state pension is currently 65 for both men and women. This is set to increase to 66 in October 2020.
The state pension age is expected to rise again to 67 between 2026 and 2028, and yet again to 68 between the years of 2037 and 2039 (to be confirmed).
So 65 is currently the age when you can claim your state pension and officially retire in the eyes of the government.
What benefits are pensioners entitled to?
As with the state pension age, the actual benefits pensioners are entitled to changes from year to year, so it’s always worth double checking when you come to retiring yourself.
At the moment, these are the main benefits you can expect once you retire.
Free bus pass
This is possibly one of the most useful things you can claim once you reach state pension age – your free bus pass!
Many local councils offer free bus travel to everybody once they reach state pension age. The specifics of this will vary from council to council, but most offer the free service during off peak hours. It’s worth pointing out that you won’t automatically receive your free bus pass, you will need to claim it from your council.
Insulation grants
Once you reach state pension age, you become eligible for a number of grants, home insulation may well be one of them. Have a look on the Energy Saving Trust website to find out what’s available in your area.
Compensation
If you have a private pension, then there is a chance that you may have a case with a mis-sold pension as these really picked up in 2019. Even if you’re not sure, it’s worth investigating this as you could be entitled to a decent sum in compensation.
Free Prescriptions
The price of a prescription is currently £9 per item. This quickly adds up, especially if you have a few conditions all needing separate medications!
It’s not just people of state pension age who can claim free prescriptions. In fact, as soon as you reach 60, you are entitled to free prescriptions.
*This is a collaborative post.
