Q I am 65 but cannot afford to retire as my State pension is only £140 a week. My wife is 64, with a State Pension of £20 a week. Should she be getting more?

A Your wife's State Pension will be based upon her National Insurance contributions record. Now that you are 65, she can claim a higher pension, probably an extra £30 a week, based upon your contributions. She can only do this, however, once you have claimed your State Pension, which you can do whether you are working or not.

Q Is there a savings limit for Pension Credit? I thought it was £16,000, but someone has just told me there isn't one.

A There is no upper savings limit - £16,000 is the limit for Council Tax Benefit and Housing Benefit. Savings of more than £6,000 will make a difference to Pension Credit. Just how much depends upon what other income you have.

Q My 85-year-old mother lives alone and receives no low income or disability benefits. Her State Pension is £94.50 a week and my late father's works pension is £259 every four weeks. Her savings are £6,700. She pays full rent of £218 every four weeks and council tax of £58 a month.

A She is due Council Tax Benefit of about £4 a week and Housing Benefit that will reduce her basic rent to about £23 a week.

Q Can we claim Pension Credit or Council Tax Benefit? Our weekly State Pensions are £88.05 and £49.15. My works pension is £251 a month and we have £8,000 savings. Our Council Tax is £1,000 a year.

A You should claim Pension Credit of about £8.76 a week by phoning 0800 99 1234. You are also entitled to Council Tax Benefit that will reduce your annual bill to about £200.