MILLIONS of Brits won’t pay more for their TV licence fee in a rare bit of good news for squeezed household budgets.
The government is set to freeze the charge for watching telly for the next two years to cushion the cost of living crisis.
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Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries is expected to announce this week that the charge will be pegged at £159 until 2024.
The TV licence fee usually goes up each year in April and last year went up from £157.50
It was the fifth year in a row the price of a licence increased and back in 2016 it cost £145.50.
The fee is set by the government and has risen in line with inflation every year since 2017 – until now.
Households are now set to avoid a rise in 2022, just as the cost of other bills and essentials are rising, creating a cost of living crisis.
Food prices are rising adding more to grocery bills and energy costs have shot up for households.
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The price cap limiting many energy prices is set to rise in April and experts predict this could add another £600 to average bills.
April will also see millions paying more in National Insurance Contributions (NIC) and council tax bills are set to rise by as much as 5%.
Telly watchers legally have to pay the annual licence fee when they’re watching any live TV or on BBC iPlayer on any device.
If you don’t have one it’s a criminal offence and you could be landed with a fine of £1,000.
But some people may be exempt from paying, saving them £159 a year.
A licence used to be free for all over-75s but that was scrapped last year. Instead it’s now only certain people this age or over who can get an exemption.
Pensioners on low incomes who are entitled to Pension Credit can still get the TV licence for free.
Pension Credit is a benefit designed to boost incomes, but it’s estimated 1million are entitled to it and don’t claim.
That means they many are missing out on the free TV licence and other help too.
If you or someone you live with is blind or severely sight-impaired, you can get 50% off the fee.
If you live in a residential care home or sheltered accommodation, you may be able to apply for a reduced licence which will normally cost you £7.50 instead.
Plus if you’re a student you don’t have to pay yourself as you can be covered by your parents licence despite living away from home, but you can’t watch on a device plugged into the mains in this case.
Do I need a TV licence?
A licence is needed by anyone intending to watch or record TV programmes while they are being broadcast live.
Live TV in this sense covers all programmes on any channel, including soaps, series, documentaries and even movies.
In addition, the rules apply even if you don’t watch the shows on an actual TV – for example, if you watch programmes that are being broadcast live on a PC, laptop, tablet or phone.
You also need one if you record live TV and then watch it later.
A colour TV licence currently costs £159 a year. A licence for watching a black and white TV costs £53.50.
You’ll need to apply for a free licence on the TV licensing website or call 0300 790 6117.
What is pension credit and who is eligible?
Pension Credit is a means-tested benefit that helps those on lower incomes by giving them extra money throughout retirement.
It will give you extra cash as well as a free TV Licence, so it’s worth checking in case you could get both.
There are two parts to the benefit and pensioners can be eligible for one or both parts:
- Guarantee credit – tops up your weekly income to a guaranteed minimum level. This is £167.25 a week if you’re single and £255.25 a week for married couples.
- Savings credit – provides extra money if you’ve saved money towards retirement. You can get an extra £13.75 a week for a single person or £15.35 a week for a married couple.
You may also get additional pension credit if you are disabled, have caring responsibilities or have to pay certain housing costs such as mortgage interest payments.
For instance, you can get either £53.34 a week or £63.84 per week for each child or young person you’re responsible for.
If they’re disabled, you may get more.
Pension Credit is available for people who are over the state pension age, who live in England, Scotland or Wales.
To qualify, you’ll need to have a weekly income of less than £167.25 for single people or £255.25 for couples.
To apply for pension Credit call the claim line on 0800 99 1234 and it’s open Monday to Friday from 8am to 7.30pm.
You’ll need some information to hand before you make the call, including:
- Your national insurance number
- Information about your income, savings and investments
- The details for the account you want the money to be paid into
You can find out more about Pension Credit in The Sun’s guide here.
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