Q I am 93 and my wife is 82. My State pension is £83.84 and my wife's is £46.78 weekly. I also have Attendance Allowance of £57.20 and War Pension of £37.17. Our savings are £15,800. Are we entitled to Pension Credit or help with council tax?

A As things stand, you are due Pension Credit of £8.80 a week and Council Tax Benefit that would reduce your council tax to about £2 a week. However, if your wife claims underlying entitlement to Carer's Allowance for looking after you, Pension Credit will be £23.31 and there will be no council tax to pay.

Q My wife's State Pension is £49.06 and mine is £93.25. I have Industrial Injuries of £35.04 a week and a monthly pension of £179. We have no savings and pay full council tax. What help might we be due?

A No Pension Credit, I am afraid, but if your council tax is more than £8.70 a week, you are paying too much

Q I am a widow of 81 with a weekly pension of £92.87 and substantial savings. Can I get Pension Credit?

A It depends what you mean by substantial. You could still get Pension Credit with savings of up to £29,000.

Q You said the Winter Fuel Payment for those 80 and over was £300. I am nearly 82, but only got £200 last winter. What is the situation?

A This is the first winter when those 80 and over get the extra £100. Eligible pensioners will have to have reached 80 by week commencing September 15.

Q Being given Pension Credit (PC) after I was on Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG) meant I was only 88p a week better off. People I know got as much as £13. Can this be right? I am a widow of 79, now receiving £102.98 a week.

A The smaller your MIG, the bigger your PC. Like MIG, PC brings your income up to £102.10 a week for a single person but it also hands you back 60 per cent of your personal income. Personal income is what you have in excess of the basic State Pension. Your personal income looks to be £1.46, 60 per cent of which is 88p.