Household Support Fund - Support for those receiving Pension Credits
If you are receiving Pension Credit we will post a letter in November explaining how you can apply for support.
You will be able to apply online by filling in this online form or by telephoning our Customer Service Centre on 0300 500 8080.
Due to current demands, our Customer Service Centre lines are extremely busy, so if you do choose to contact us by phone we ask you to please be patient – your call will be answered. We are expecting our lines to be very busy over the next week, so you may find it better to call back another time or to use the online form above.
The quickest way that we can get this support out to you is by you or your formal appointee, who may be acting on your behalf (appointed by the DWP), completing the online form.
You will need the details on the letter to enable you to complete your application, so please have your letter to hand and do not attempt to fill in the form before receiving it. You will need the Unique Reference Number (URN) from the letter. This can be found in the middle of the letter on page two.
The Household Support Fund (HSF) is a £5.6m fund, provided to us by the Department for Work and Pensioners (DWP), to help support families who are in need, with the rising costs of food and energy prices.
We have been working with the DWP to identify those of pensionable age who are eligible for support. If you are in receipt of Pension Credit (either Savings Credit or Guaranteed Credit), we are inviting you to apply as soon as possible for this support.
We will be sending letters to those eligible for support between 16 and 22 August. You will be invited to fill out an application form online (alternatively you can call our Customer Service Centre on 0300 500 8080). Once the form is submitted, we will process your request and get your support out to you.
The quickest way to receive support is by completing the online application form.
You will need your Unique Reference Number (URN) from your letter in order to complete the form.
If you have a formal Appointee who has been appointed by the DWP to act on your behalf, the Appointee can fill the form out for you. Appointees will be contacted separately, by letter, to inform them of how they can help those they are an Appointee for.
Yes.
Applications must be received by the date on the letter.
We are currently working to support those in receipt of Pension Credit. Please continue to regularly check our website for any further updates on those eligible for support in the coming weeks.
The form can be filled out online which is the quickest way of applying. Please visit www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/householdsupportforpensioners and input your details.
Each eligible household will receive £85 towards energy. Each household member who meets the eligibility criteria will be eligible for £50 towards food. So, a single eligible person in a household will receive £135 of support, and two eligible people in the household will receive a total of £185 to share.
The support will be available through one of the three options:
- Supermarket vouchers which you can redeem at a supermarket of your choice
- ‘PayPoint’ cash out vouchers – these are vouchers which you can redeem for cash from a number of local retailers
- A transfer of monies by ‘BACS’ transfer by the County Council directly into your bank account
If you have selected a supermarket voucher, once you have activated it (this means clicking the link so you can see the barcode), you will have at least a year to redeem it. You do not need to spend it all in one go, but you will need to keep the link safe.
If you have selected ‘PayPoint’ cash out vouchers, you will have one month to activate them, again, this means clicking on the link to open the voucher so you can see the barcode.
Once the form has been completed, either by filling it out online or contacting our Customer Service Centre, you will have the option of receiving your voucher support direct to your email account, posted to your house, or have the money directly sent to your bank, depending on which method of support you have chosen.
We will aim to get your support to you as soon as possible, but please allow up to 10 working days from when you have submitted your application.
The fastest way for you to receive your support is to select shopping vouchers and have them emailed to you. This option is faster than posting vouchers or sending money via a bank transfer.
To check the validity of this letter, please independently visit the Nottinghamshire County Council website or contact us by telephone. We also encourage you to check this letter with family, friends or someone you trust.
If you are contacted by letter or any other means and you’re not sure if it’s genuine, please always check. Be suspicious of requests for money upfront and protect your financial information, especially from those you don’t know.
For help and advice about scams, please call the Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 0808 2231133 or visit their website: www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer.
Those on pension credits living in city areas will be able to apply to a similar scheme administered by Nottingham City Council, working with Age UK Notts: Household Support Vouchers - Nottingham City Council
