Q I am a married woman of 58 and have been told that I will only qualify for a State pension of £26.32 a week. But I can get more if I pay voluntary National Insurance contributions for 1996 to 2002 of £1,632.30. What do you advise?

A Paying all those contributions would give you something like a half-rate pension (about £40 a week) when you reach 60. Whether it is worth the expense depends upon when your husband gets his State Pension at 65. From then, you will be due a 60 per cent pension on his contributions.

Q When I reach 60, my Incapacity Benefit (IB) will be replaced by a smaller State Pension of £24.68 and my Reduced Earnings Allowance (REA) falls to £12.01 a week. My husband has IB of £89.70, REA of £48.80 and mobility DLA. We have £20 a week council tax to pay. The CAB tells me we can get no more as our money is above the guaranteed Pension Credit level.

A There are more benefits besides means-tested Pension Credit. When you are 60 your husband can claim extra IB for you. In your case, this will be about £20 a week. Also, you should get about £13 a week off your council tax.

Q I am a widow living alone with Attendance Allowance. Is it only family who can claim Carer's Allowance (CA) for looking after me? I have no family.

A Anyone over 16 and not a student can claim CA, provided they care for 35 hours a week and do not have earnings of more than £77 a week. But the person being cared for could lose money, depending on their benefit situation. So write again with more details.

Q I am a confused 83-year-old who was awarded Pension Credit of £13.13 that went down to £12.62 in April. My weekly income from pensions is £102.26 and my savings are £7,717. Am I getting the right amount?

A It does not look like it to me. As your income would be assessed at £105.26 a week, that puts you at the level where a single person gets maximum savings credit, which is £15.15 a week. So query it with the Pensions Service.