Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of mitigating the impact of the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit for pensioners with incomes just above the Standard Minimum Guarantee level.

Pension Credit provides direct financial support to pensioner households on the lowest incomes, ensuring that they receive a guaranteed minimum level of income – the Standard Minimum Guarantee (SMG). The Standard Minimum Guarantee is subject to the Secretary of State’s annual statutory review of State Pension and benefit rates, and it will increase by 4.8% from April.

Pensioners with incomes just above their Pension Credit level may still benefit from a range of wider support, depending on their circumstances, including help with housing costs, Council Tax, health related support, and other means tested assistance available across the welfare system.