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State pensioners can get an average of £1,500 extra every year on top of their state pension income thanks to a DWP rule. Pension Credit is an extra, means tested benefit offered to state pensioners on top of their weekly state pension payments.

In turn, those claiming Pension Credit can also apply for a range of other benefits and discounts, and one such discount is on council tax.

The benefit, which is means tested based on your weekly income, is available to both older basic state pensioners and new state pensioners, and as of April you can usually claim it if your income is lower than £238 a week for a single state pensioner.

Martin Lewis' Money Saving Expert explains that those who claim Pension Credit can often get a discount on their council tax worth an average of £1,500 a year.

Martin explains that as many as 2.25million people on low incomes are missing out on council tax support, which includes people on Universal Credit and those on Pension Credit.

But because council tax discounts are run by each local authority individually, what discount you get and how you can claim it will vary council by council.

You don't automatically get it if you get Pension Credit and you need to make a separate application to your local council.

Martin Lewis' MSE explains: "Separate from discounts, every council runs its own council tax reduction scheme. So what you get depends on where you live, but it can cut your council tax bill by up to 100%... though it's a jungle of variation, so it really depends on each council.

"Who's likely to get it? If you already qualify for a means-tested benefit, such as Universal Credit or Pension Credit, you may be due this. The most important thing to understand is you won't get it automatically - YOU MUST APPLY SEPARATELY, which is why so many miss out."

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It adds: "Discounts and reductions can be worth £100s off your council tax bill each month. You may be able to backdate too, though councils set their own rules about this - if they allow backdating, you'll normally need to explain why you hadn't claimed before."