Little-known TV licence rule means nearly 1million households could save £174 a year ahead of bill hike
We explain who can avoid the dreaded charge altogether
A LITTLE-KNOWN TV licence rule means that nearly 1million households could save £174 a year.
However, hundreds of thousands are eligible for a free TV licence but aren’t claiming it, according to previous research by Policy in Practice.
Anyone who wants to watch live TV including the BBC, ITV and Sky needs to pay for a TV licence otherwise, they will be breaking the law.
The licence fee, currently worth £169.50 a year will rise by £5 to £174.50 from April 2025.
However, there are some scenarios where you can get a free licence, including if you’re on certain benefits.
For example, if you’re claiming pension credit and over the age of 75, you will be exempt, meaning you could save £174.50 a year from next Spring.
Over 968,000 people over the age of 75 currently claim pension credit, according to the DWP’s latest statistics.
But not everyone is claiming their free TV licence as it’s not automatic.
The government also estimates that a further 760,000 people over 66 aren’t pension credit even though they’re eligible.
This means hundreds of thousands of households are potentially missing out on the over-75s free TV licence.
You can also get a free licence if your partner claims pension credit but you do not.
To apply for a free TV licence you can visit the following website, //www.tvlicensing.co.uk/cs/pay-for-your-tv-licence/index.app.
Alternatively, you can call the following number and apply over the phone 0300 790 6071.
What is pension credit?
Pension Credit gives you extra money if you claim the state pension and are on a low income.
If you live alone and your weekly income is below £218, or if you live with a partner and both are of state pension age with a combined weekly income below approximately £350, you should qualify.
However, if your income is slightly higher, you might still be eligible for pension credit if you have a disability, you care for someone, you have savings or you have housing costs.
You could get an extra £81.50 a week if you have a disability or claim any of the following:
- Attendance allowance
- The middle or highest rate from the care component of disability living allowance (DLA)
- The daily living component of personal independence payment (PIP)
- Armed forces independence payment
- The daily living component of adult disability payment (ADP) at the standard or enhanced rate.
You could get the “savings credit” part of pension credit if both of the following apply:
- You reached State Pension age before April 6, 2016
- You saved some money for retirement, for example, a personal or workplace pension
This part of pension credit is worth £17.01 for single people or £19.04 for couples.
Pension credit opens the door to other support, including housing benefits, cost of living payments, council tax reductions and the Winter Fuel Payment.
APPLY FOR PENSION CREDIT
YOU can start your application for pension credit up to four months before you reach state pension age.
You can apply any time after you reach state pension age but your application can only be backdated by three months.
This means you can get up to three months of pension credit in your first payment if you were eligible during that time.
To apply, you’ll need the following information about you and your partner if you have one:
- National Insurance number
- Information about any income, savings and investments you have
- Information about your income, savings and investments on the date you want to backdate your application to
You’ll also need your bank account details. Depending on how you apply, you may also be asked for your bank or building society name, sort code and account number.
Applications can be made online by visiting gov.uk/pension-credit/how-to-claim.
If you’d prefer to apply over the phone, you can do so by calling the pension credit claim line on 0800 99 1234.
How can I watch TV for free without a licence?
Pluto TV
Pluto TV is another free streaming service with more than 100 channels.
Anyone can access Pluto TV for free on the web or on your iPhone and Android device.
Virgin Media has just made it available via some of its boxes – but bear in mind you’d need to pay a TV licence and take out a contract with Virgin to take advantage of this.
Amazon Freevee
Amazon Prime Video may be the first thing you think of but the retail giant also has a growing free alternative.
Freevee is home to exclusives like Judy Justice.
It’s the new home of Neighbours too, which is set to return later this year.
But there’s some classic on-demand content too.
The L Word, Nashville and Parks and Recreation are among the shows available.
All4
All4 is the main source of on-demand programmes from Channel 4, E4, Film4 and More 4.
The service is free to use and funded by advertisements.
All4 offers a free and extensive library of both classic shows and more recent programmes, including complete box sets of some of our most popular series like Gogglebox.
UKTV Play
If you’re a fan of Dave, Drama, W and Yesterday then the UKTV Play is the place for you.
The latest featured shows include Meet The Richardsons, Annika and Great British Railway Journeys.
You’ll have to sign up to start watching – and there are ads.
ITVX
ITVX launched in November, replacing the old ITV Hub.
ITV now drops many new and exclusive shows online before they’re shown on ITV1.
There’s also a load of other shows, including more niche interest like anime.
Free trials
You should take advantage of free trials to keep more of your hard-earned cash.
Some trials are as short as seven days, while others last an entire month.
For example, Amazon Prime Video offers newbies 30 days streaming for free.
Now TV also offers weekly free trails for Sky Cinema and Entertainment packages.
But any savvy savers must remember to unsubscribe to any subscriptions before the end of the trial period or risk incurring further charges.
Customers can also nab a free trial of streaming services when buying new technology.
Some Apple technology purchases will include a free trial of Apple TV+.
TV LICENCE NEED-TO-KNOWS
IF you want to watch or record live TV, you need a TV licence.
Live TV includes all programmes on any channel, including soaps, series, documentaries and even movies.
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.
A colour TV licence currently costs £169.50 a year. A licence for watching a black and white TV costs £57.
You can legally use on-demand TV services (apart from BBC iPlayer) as long as you aren’t using them to stream live TV without a TV licence.
This includes streaming catch-up content on ITV Player, All 4, My5, BT Vision/BT TV, Virgin Media, Sky Go, Now TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku and Amazon Fire TV.
You also don’t need a TV licence to watch video clips that aren’t live through services such as YouTube.