Campaigns & issues

We believe Council Tax must be affordable for everyone. We are campaigning for the Government to replace Council Tax with a system more closely linked to people's ability to pay. 

Until that happens‚ we are calling on the Government to change the Council Tax Benefit system to make it easier for older people to receive the help to which they are entitled:

Remove the £16‚000 savings threshold

To be eligible for help towards your Council Tax bill you normally must have no more than £16‚000 in savings (unless you receive Pension Credit guarantee). This means that many people miss out because of their modest savings. This condition also makes the system more complicated because there is a savings limit for Council Tax Benefit but not for Pension Credit.

• The Government must remove the £16‚000 savings threshold for older people who are not entitled to Pension Credit guarantee.

A single telephone claim line

The current system for claiming Council Tax Benefit is complex for people who are entitled to help and staff working in Government agencies alike. People often find that they need to complete several forms with the same information to claim different benefits. Pensioners entitled to Pension Credit can also claim Council Tax Benefit and Housing Benefit with one phone call to the Pension Service.

• This service should be available to ALL pensioners and not just those entitled to Pension Credit.

Automatic payments

The Government is looking at ways to pay Council Tax Benefit more automatically to ensure that people receive their bill with any rebates that they are eligible for already deducted from the total owed. This will save individuals having to claim the discounts or exemptions that they are entitled to.

• We want to see early progress towards automatic payments.

Read more about our campaign and how you can add your voice to support it - download the campaign leaflet from the right-hand side of this page.  

Contact us

Email: Campaigns