Benefits

Some Pensioners set to lose payments of up to £70 a week from April, when the Government cuts extra payments for 'adult dependants'.

Some pensioners receiving state pension may be receiving an adult dependency increase (ADI). This is a payment of up to £70 per week on top of the usual state pension, for a partner who is financially dependent on you.

Although these extra payments closed to new applicants in 2010, those who were already receiving the increase were able to carry on claiming it.
From 6 April 2020, all these payments will stop, regardless of when you started claiming.
For someone claiming the maximum payment, this would mean an annual drop in income of £3,640. But you may be able to apply for pension credit or universal credit to make up for this loss see below for more info.

What is the adult dependency increase?

The adult dependency increase is a weekly payment which is added to the recipient's basic state pension.
Its purpose is to provide for another adult who is financially dependent on you – such as a partner who doesn't receive their own state pension.
How much the payments are worth depends on which category of the old state pension you have (those receiving the new state pension won't have been eligible, as applications for the payments were closed in 2010):

• £70 per week for those with category A old state pensions, which are based on your national insurance contributions.
• £41.90 per week for those with category C old state pensions, which are for those aged 80 and over and aren't based on contributions.

I'm set to lose my adult dependency payment – what can I do?

All payments for the ADI will stop from 6 April 2020.
But while no one will be eligible to carry on receiving it, you may be able to receive other Government help to supplement your state pension.
The Department for Work and Pensions says that if you're already receiving a means-tested benefit such as pension credit or universal credit, this will increase to offset the loss of your ADI – so your income should stay the same overall.
If not, you should check if you'll be eligible to receive pension credit after your ADI stops. This will top up your state pension if you meet certain criteria.

There are two elements to pension credit:

• Guarantee credit tops up your weekly income if it's less than £167.25, or £255.25 for couples.
• Savings credit is an extra payment for those who have some money saved towards their retirement. It's worth up to £13.73 per week for a single person, or £15.35 for couples. You'll need a minimum income of £144.38, or £229.67 for couples.

See our guide for more info on how to claim. Click Here

If you're in a mixed-age couple, where one partner is below state pension age and one partner is above, you won't be able to apply for pension credit. If this applies to you, you may be able to apply for universal credit instead. Click Here