We’ll start with a list of ingredients:
- Your Maximum Guarantee Credit (see the main Pension Credit page to work this out).
- The income figure used for your Guarantee Credit calculation
- Something called your qualifying income: this is your income minus any of the following things: working Tax Credit, Incapacity Benefit, contribution based Jobseeker's Allowance, Severe Disablement Allowance, Maternity Allowance, Maintenance Payments, and contribution based Employment and Support Allowance.
- A threshold figure: this is £140.67 if you are single, or £223.82 if you are a couple.
Next, you need to work out the Maximum Savings Credit you can get:
- Calculate qualifying income minus your threshold figure, and multiply this answer by 60%.
- If this amount is less than £13.40 if you are single, or £14.99 if you are a couple, that amount is your Maximum Savings Credit
- If this amount is more than £13.40 if you are single, or £14.99 if you are a couple, your maximum Savings Credit is £13.40, or £14.99 if you are a couple.
- If the amount is a minus number (in other words your qualifying income is less than the threshold figure) you get no Savings Credit.
Next, ask yourself:
- Is your income less than your Maximum Guarantee Credit (in other words, are you entitled to any Guarantee Credit at all)?
- If it is, you are entitled to the Maximum Savings Credit and
you don’t need to go any further (!)
- If it isn’t, carry on…
- Work out 40% of the difference between your income and your Maximum Guarantee Credit - we’ll call this the taper
- Reduce the maximum Savings Credit by the taper to get your actual Savings Credit (if the taper is more than your maximum Savings Credit you get no Savings Credit.)