Attendance Allowance has one number for everything, and so does Carer’s Allowance. Pension Credit has two, and GOV.UK gives both of them the same name in different places, so the label on the page you happen to land on will not tell you which one you want.
The two numbers, and what each is for
Ring 0800 99 1234 to make a claim, or to ask whether you qualify for one of the extra amounts. Ring 0800 731 0469 to report a change of circumstances once you are already receiving Pension Credit. Both are freephone, and both run Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm.
GOV.UK calls 0800 99 1234 the “Pension Credit claim line” on its how-to-claim page and the “Pension Service helpline” on its what-you’ll-get page, and it calls 0800 731 0469 the “Pension Service helpline” on its change-of-circumstances page (GOV.UK, Pension Credit: how to claim, checked 9 September 2026).
So the name is not a reliable guide. What the call is about is.
If you cannot hear or speak on the phone
Relay UK covers both lines: dial 18001 followed by whichever number you need. There is also a British Sign Language video relay service, which works from a computer, with instructions for using it on a mobile or tablet published separately.
GOV.UK notes that the change-of-circumstances line is closed on public holidays as well as at weekends (GOV.UK, Pension Credit: report a change of circumstances, checked 1 November 2026). The same note appears beside the helpline on the what-you’ll-get page.
Someone else can ring for you
GOV.UK states plainly that a friend or family member can call for you if you cannot use the phone. That is worth knowing for anyone who finds telephone calls difficult, or who is helping a parent who does, because it removes a practical barrier without needing any formal arrangement first.
Have the details ready before the call rather than during it: National Insurance number, information about income, savings and investments, and bank account details (GOV.UK, Pension Credit: how to claim, checked 9 September 2026).
Applying by post
Print the claim form from GOV.UK, or ring the claim line and ask for one to be sent. Completed forms go to Freepost DWP Pensions Service 3. GOV.UK is specific about the envelope: write nothing except the freepost address on it, and you need neither a postcode nor a stamp.
Note that this is a different freepost address from the one Attendance Allowance uses (Pension Credit, Pension Credit: how to claim and Attendance Allowance, Attendance Allowance: how to claim on GOV.UK, checked 1 November 2026), so a form sent to the wrong one has gone to the wrong department.
Applying online
The online service is open to you if you have already claimed your State Pension. If you have not, the telephone or postal routes are the ones available. You can also start an application up to four months before you reach State Pension age.
That four-month window is worth using. GOV.UK says that once you have reached State Pension age, an application can only be backdated by 3 months (GOV.UK, Pension Credit: how to claim, checked 1 November 2026).
What you have to report, and what happens if you do not
Changes fall into two groups. Personal ones include moving, a partner moving in or out or dying, starting or stopping work, going into hospital or a care home, people moving in or out of your house, switching your bank account, and leaving England, Scotland and Wales for any period at all, including a holiday.
Financial ones include changes to housing costs such as ground rent or service charges, to benefits anyone living with you receives, to occupational or personal pensions — including taking a lump sum from a pension pot — and to other income, savings, investments or property.
GOV.UK is direct about the consequence: your claim might be stopped or reduced if you do not report a change straight away, and you could be taken to court or have to pay a penalty for giving wrong information or failing to report one (GOV.UK, Pension Credit: report a change of circumstances, checked 1 November 2026).
Some changes increase the award rather than reducing it, which is the reason not to treat reporting as something to avoid. A new disability benefit in the household can bring the £86.05 severe disability addition with it — our how much page sets out all four additions.
If you would rather not ring at all
GOV.UK points to help directly: it suggests contacting a voluntary organisation such as Citizens Advice or Age UK if you need help with the form. Neither is part of the department that decides your claim, both are free, and a local council welfare rights team will often do the same.
If the call is only to check when your next Pension Credit payment arrives or how much it will be, GOV.UK’s Check your benefits and State Pension payments service shows that online, along with the last three months of payments. It needs a GOV.UK One Login, and appointees cannot use it (GOV.UK, Check your benefits and State Pension payments, checked 1 November 2026).
That is worth taking up if the form is the obstacle rather than the eligibility. An adviser who fills these in weekly will finish in an hour what takes an evening alone.
Before you ring to ask if you qualify
If the call you are planning is “do I even qualify”, there is a faster answer than a phone queue. Savings do not disqualify you, owning your home does not, and a higher income does not necessarily either, because the additions raise the figure your income is measured against.
Our see what you can claim tool asks three questions and gives the answer before it asks anything of you. Nothing you enter leaves your browser, and there is no name or email to give.