Welfare Benefits and Tax Credits Handbook 2019/20Part 4: General rules for other means-tested benefitsChapter 23: Capital: over pension age Key facts
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Welfare Benefits and Tax Credits Handbook 2021/22

Key facts
    •There is no upper capital limit for pension credit (PC).
    •Generally, you are not eligible for housing benefit (HB) if your total capital is over £16,000. However, if you get the guarantee credit of PC, there is no capital limit for HB because all your capital is ignored.
    •If you have capital over £10,000, this affects the amount of PC or HB you get because it is assumed that your capital gives you some income – called ‘deemed income’.
    •Capital includes your and your partner’s savings, investments and property. Some kinds of capital are ignored when working out your PC or HB – eg, the value of the home in which you live.
    •If you deliberately get rid of capital in order to get more benefit, you are treated as still having it. This is called ‘notional capital’.
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