Eligible older pensioners can keep away from paying the £180 TV licence price altogether.
A TV Licence at the moment prices £180 per 12 months (Picture: Getty)
Older state pensioners throughout the UK can minimize their TV Licence invoice all the way down to £0 in simply 16 minutes in the event that they meet sure standards. April 1 ushered in a swathe of family invoice will increase, together with a £5.50 worth hike to the price of a TV licence. The rise means the annual price of a TV licence is now £180 per 12 months, or £60.50 per 12 months in case you have a black and white TV set. The UK Authorities agreed that the price for a TV Licence would enhance in keeping with inflation from April 1, 2024, for the remaining 4 years of the Constitution interval, which runs till the top of 2027, so households are face yet one more worth hike in April subsequent 12 months. The Division for Tradition, Media and Sport (DCMS) confirmed in February that the licence price would rise in April 2026 “in keeping with inflation” as required by the 2022 Licence Charge Settlement, including that the price may even rise once more in keeping with CPI inflation in April 2027.
You want a TV Licence to observe or document programmes on a TV, laptop, or different system on any channel or service as they’re broadcast – together with on-demand BBC programmes on BBC iPlayer. However there are methods to scale back the fee and for some older state pensioners, it is attainable to keep away from the price altogther, reducing prices all the way down to £0 just by claiming one Division for Work and Pensions (DWP) profit: Pension Credit score.
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Pension Credit score gives more money to folks of State Pension age and on a low earnings and following a 4.8% uplift on April 6, is it now price £4,300 per 12 months on common, in keeping with the DWP.
Beneath the brand new 2026/27 charges, the profit tops up your weekly earnings to £238 in the event you’re single, or your joint weekly earnings to £363.25 in case you have a accomplice, but it surely additionally unlocks entry to different monetary assist too – together with a free TV Licence in the event you’re aged 75 or over.
Confirming the uplift from April 6, the DWP stated: “Pension Credit score may even rise by 4.8% and be price a mean of £4,300 a 12 months, unlocking additional assist together with assist with housing prices, council tax and free tv licenses. Between 2026 and 2027, the federal government will present a £6 billion increase to spending on State Pensions and pensioner advantages.”
In response to the DWP, it solely takes 16 minutes on common to use for Pension Credit score and by doing so, you possibly can unlock 1000’s of kilos price of additional monetary assist.
The DWP stated final 12 months: “The web declare kind – up to date by the Work and Pensions Secretary after listening to the views of pensioners– means it now takes simply 16 minutes on common to use for Pension Credit score and be eligible for as much as £4,300, with 90 p.c of recent clients making use of utilizing the straightforward on-line kind, or over the cellphone.”
In case you already get Pension Credit score then you possibly can apply for a free TV Licence if you’re 74, however you’ll have to proceed paying in your licence till the top of the month earlier than your seventy fifth birthday. After this, you will be lined by your free licence.
For individuals who don’t meet the eligibility standards for Pension Credit score, there are different methods to scale back your TV Licence invoice, or keep away from the price totally.
In response to TV Licensing, you need to cancel your TV Licence in the event you now not watch dwell on any channel, TV service or streaming service, or use BBC iPlayer. So in the event you fall into this class, you possibly can cancel your licence and could also be eligible for a refund if, earlier than your licence expires, you received’t be doing any of the next:
- watching TV on any channel, like BBC, ITV, Channel 4, U&Dave and worldwide channels
- watching TV on pay TV providers, like Sky, Virgin Media and EE TV
- watching dwell TV on streaming providers, like YouTube, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video.
- utilizing BBC iPlayer
This contains recording and downloading programmes on any system. However in the event you nonetheless want your TV Licence there are different methods to scale back the fee.
In case you dwell in a residential care residence, supported housing or sheltered lodging, then you could be entitled to a decreased price TV Licence, and in the event you’re blind (severely sight impaired) and might present the suitable proof, you possibly can apply for a 50% low cost in your TV Licence. But when neither of those apply you then’ll must pay for a TV Licence on the full fee.
TV licence: A take a look at reforms made to price in 2022
In case you don’t meet the eligibility standards for Pension Credit score or qualify for a decreased price TV Licence, then there are nonetheless just a few choices to economize.
TV licences are per family, not per particular person, so in the event you dwell in a home with a number of folks, you don’t all have to have one and will all chip in to share the price of one licence. As an alternative, you possibly can share a TV Licence among the many complete family in the event you watch TV in a single shared space, or have a joint tenancy settlement. However in case you have separate tenancy agreements and watch TV in your personal room, then you will want to pay in your personal.
You additionally don’t want a TV Licence to observe streaming providers, reminiscent of Netflix and Disney Plus, on-demand TV by way of providers like All 4 and Amazon Prime Video, movies on web sites reminiscent of YouTube, or DVDs and Blu-rays.
So in the event you’re pleased to simply persist with watching any of those, and never watch or document any dwell TV or BBC iPlayer, it can save you your self £174.50. However in the event you do watch or document dwell TV with no TV Licence, you then could be issued a effective of as much as £1,000.
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