TV licence: Cost of living crisis forces pensioners forced to ditch TV | Personal Finance | Finance
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Campaigners are warning that the cost of living crisis is stripping pensioners of any contact with the outside world and ditching their TV because they can’t afford the fee. They are calling on the Government to reinstate free TV licences for everyone aged 75 and over.
Up until July 2020 pensioners were entitled to a free BBC TV licence when they reached 75-years-old.
Now, however, all pensioners have to fork out the £159 licence fee unless they are receiving Pension Credit.
Since then 4.5 million more people have been left forced to fork out the £159 fee adding up to £710million as a nation.
The cost of living crisis has only served to bring this issue back to the forefront.
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Mr Reed continued: “It will cut off poor pensioners from information and entertainment at a time when they will need it more than ever.
“Ministers should hang their heads in shame having broken solemn promises,” he told The Mirror.
In response, a TV Licensing spokesperson said: “We want to help customers remain correctly licensed and we continue to work with groups throughout the UK which support people who fall into financial difficulty.
“There are payment plans available to help spread the cost, and anyone 75 or over who receives Pension Credit is eligible to apply for a free licence paid for by the BBC”.
Thousands of pensioners are missing out on a free TV licence because they haven’t claimed Pension Credit.
To qualify for Pension Credit, Britons need to have reached state pension age and be earning less than £177.10 per week.
Claiming Pension Credit could also mean pensioners receive a council tax reduction, as well as help towards energy bills and free prescriptions.
This could save people hundreds, if not thousands of pounds, over the course of a year.
People who never watch live TV programmes on any channel including iPlayer don’t need a TV licence.
They can apply for a refund and claw some of the money back.
The TV licensing website states: “You don’t need a TV Licence if you only ever use Netflix or other online TV services to watch on demand or catch up programmes, except if you’re watching BBC programmes on BBC iPlayer.
“If you only watch on demand programmes on Netflix and don’t watch TV live on any TV or streaming service, and don’t watch BBC iPlayer, you may cancel your TV Licence if you won’t need it again before it expires.”
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