Taxable Accounts

[weecalf]

Is current accounts bank accounts taken into account if you will excuse the pun when you get the pension or if any top up like pension credit is dependant on savings

[wolf63]

If the benefit is mean tested then the current account will be counted to. Theoretically all you Piggy banks count too.

[weecalf]

Thought that but current accounts earn little and are mostly for direct debits and standing orders to pay bill witch are necessary to live .

[wolf63]

There used to be a really complicated way of working out what mine was just passing through the account and about to be paid out again.

Unless your savings are near the limit it probably won't matter.

I worked for DWP when Supplementary Benefit and then Income Support were around. I think that these days it even more confusing.

[EDDIE51]

Yes, Pension credit is means tested ( I get it ) you have to claim all POSSIBLE sources of income ,even if you are not actually claiming them (a private pension for example that you could claim but have chosen not to)and all money in cash or ANY type of bank account.
If you have a possible source of income that you are not claiming (like a private pension as I said above) they will take it into the calculation as though you are claiming it in full even if you have not actually claimed it.
There is a pension credit helpline who are very good and can explain it all.
But do not try to fool them they can see what pensions and accounts you have even if you try to avoid mentioning them !
If you make a successful pension credit claim they will send a representative round to your home to interview you ( I had this) you need to have all your financial details ready for them to check.

[EDDIE51]

weecalf some people have £millions in a current account !
Make little difference these days my saving account pays just 0.05% interest!

[weecalf]

So if you settle just for flat rate pension what do you get and is this means tested

[EDDIE51]

State pension is not means tested , pension credit is means tested.

[New Judge]

The current maximum basic State Pension is £115.95 per week. This is payable to those who have made sufficient National Insurance contributions. When the means test is undertaken to determine whether the applicant is eligible for top ups such as Pension Credit, capital as well as income is considered. So it is not just the income from your current account that needs to be considered but also the capital.

[weecalf]

Now I m getting the gist of it .Question if I have 20000 in the bank do I pay tax every time I get the pension how does ig work

[fiction-factory]

I don't see where tax comes into it weecalf

[weecalf]

If I got pension credit to increase my pension

[fiction-factory]

>" if I have 20000 in the bank do I pay tax every time I get the pension how does ig work"

I'm wondering if two issues are being conflated.

You pay tax on your total income (state pension, pension credit, some benefits and interest (with some exceptions for interest) exceeds the annual personal allowance which is £1060. Tax should be deducted at 20% at source on interest unless you have declared that you are a non-tax payer. However as from April this year the first £1000pa I think of interest will be paid gross as it'll be tax free for basic rate taxpayers so it's unlikely you will be taxed on interest.

[Peter Pedant]

breathe deeply weecalf

tax is what you pay on your income
if you are wondering about pension credit - then your income has to be pretty crap to behonest
Bank interest is counted as unearned income - but since banks dont pay diddly squat it is by and large irrrelevant but yes I include it iin my tax return and pay tax on it as I do my occupational pension

Top up pension is really nothing to do with tax ( OK it is paid for thro other peoples taxes hur hur hur )
As you have read - it is means tested

that is you get your pension and if it is not " enough" that is below the applicable amount then you get a top up. Capital in the bank ( savings ) clearly will limit your claim to pension credit - so will earnings another pension and so on

and what happens if you were below the applicable amount and got credit and then suddently you werent ?
You should make a 'voluntary declaration' owning up to the mistake and why - basically they claw back in weekly installments the over paid credit ( and are pretty crap at telling you how and why to be honest )

It is not that complicated
tax is tax
and pensions are pensions

[Peter Pedant]

this is a useful start

https://www.gov.uk/pension-credit/eligibility

actually you are allowed quite a lot of savings £10000 and then it reduces a bit but not a lot

and if you are about to become a pensioner then you have missed the boat all this is about pensioners now
who get a pretty crap deal to be honest

[fiction-factory]

My figure for the personal annual tax allowance should have said £10600- not £1060