Q I read that you could claim pension Credit if your income was as high as £211 a week. My wife and I, who are 63 and 64 respectively, have a weekly income of £182.70, yet I was turned down when I claimed. Why so?

A Guarantee credit generally brings a couple's weekly income up to £160.95 (£105.45 for singles). If your income is already above this, you may still qualify for savings credit, but only if one of you has reached 65. You can get savings credit if your weekly income is less than £211 for couples (£144 for singles).

Q My State Pension is £335 a month and my pit pension from my late husband is £89 a month. I have £17,500 in the bank. I pay rent and council tax. Am I due any help?

A Your weekly income for Pension Credit purposes works out at about £127. This is too high for guarantee credit but, if you have reached 65, you would be due savings credit of about £6.80 a week. As long as your savings remain above £16,000, however, you cannot get help with your rent or council tax.

Q My weekly State Pension is £138.20 and my wife's is £56. I have one pension of £157.28 every three months and another of £46.77 a month. Our savings are £3,100 and we pay council tax of £83 a month.

A As a male pensioner, you will have reached 65 and can be considered for savings credit, but your weekly income of £217 is too high for you to qualify. However, you are due Council Tax Benefit of about £46 a month.

Q I am 53 and have been in receipt of Incapacity Benefit since 1986. I currently provide my services voluntarily to an organisation and this involves attending about eight meetings a year. The organisation is now considering paying me £2,000 a year. Will this affect my benefit?

A I am afraid it would. You can do as much voluntary work as you like without it affecting Incapacity Benefit, but only as long as it is unpaid. You are only allowed to accept money for expenses that have been reasonably incurred in connection with your voluntary work.