A Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) benefit can cut BBC TV licence bills down to £0 for state pensioners who meet certain criteria.

A TV licence now costs £180 per year following a £5.50 increase on April 1, or 60.50 annually if you have a black and white TV set. A further price hike is due to follow in April 2027, as the UK government decided the TV licence fee would increase with inflation for the remaining years of the Charter period, which runs until the end of 2027. This year, the licence fee has gone up in line with inflation as required by the 2022 Licence Fee Settlement and it will rise again in line with CPI inflation in April next year.

Households need a TV licence to watch or record programmes on a TV, computer, or other device on any channel or service as they are broadcast – including on-demand BBC programmes on BBC iPlayer. But eligible pensioners can avoid the licence fee altogether, effectively cutting bills down to £0 thanks to one DWP benefit: Pension Credit.

Pension Credit provides extra money to state pensioners on a low income and thanks to a 4.8% rise on April 6, the benefit is now worth an average of £4,300 per year.

Under the new April 2026/27 rates, single claimants can top up their income to £238 per week, or their joint weekly income to £363.25 per week if you have a partner.

But claiming Pension Credit also unlocks access to an array of additional financial support, including a free TV licence if you’re aged 75 or over.

Commenting on the Pension Credit uplift this month, the DWP said: “Pension Credit will also rise by 4.8% and be worth an average of £4,300 a year, unlocking further support including help with housing costs, council tax and free television licenses. Between 2026 and 2027, the government will provide a £6 billion boost to spending on State Pensions and pensioner benefits.”

According to the DWP, it takes just 16 minutes on average to apply for Pension Credit and if you’re eligible, the benefit can give you access to thousands of pounds worth of extra support.

If you already get Pension Credit then you can apply for a free TV Licence when you’re 74, but you’ll need to continue paying for your licence until the end of the month before your 75th birthday. After this, you’ll be covered by your free licence.

For those who don’t meet the eligibility criteria for Pension Credit, there are other ways to reduce your TV Licence bill, or avoid the fee entirely.

According to TV Licensing, you should cancel your TV Licence if you no longer watch live on any channel, TV service or streaming service, or use BBC iPlayer. So if you fall into this category, you can cancel your licence and may be eligible for a refund if, before your licence expires, you won’t be doing any of the following:

• watching TV on any channel, like BBC, ITV, Channel 4, U&Dave and international channels
• watching TV on pay TV services, like Sky, Virgin Media and EE TV
• watching live TV on streaming services, like YouTube, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video.
• using BBC iPlayer
  

This includes recording and downloading programmes on any device. But if you still need your TV Licence there are other ways to reduce the cost.

If you live in a residential care home, supported housing or sheltered accommodation, then you may be entitled to a reduced fee TV Licence, and if you’re blind (severely sight impaired) and can provide the appropriate evidence, you can apply for a 50% discount on your TV Licence. But if neither of these apply then you’ll have to pay for a TV Licence at the full rate.

If you don’t meet the eligibility criteria for Pension Credit or qualify for a reduced fee TV Licence, then there are still a few options to save money.

TV licences are per household, not per person, so if you live in a house with several people, you don’t all need to have one and could all chip in to share the cost of one licence. Instead, you can share a TV Licence among the whole household if you watch TV in a single shared area, or have a joint tenancy agreement. But if you have separate tenancy agreements and watch TV in your own room, then you will need to pay for your own.

You also don’t need a TV Licence to watch streaming services, such as Netflix and Disney Plus, on-demand TV through services like All 4 and Amazon Prime Video, videos on websites such as YouTube, or DVDs and Blu-rays.

So if you’re happy to just stick to watching any of these, and not watch or record any live TV or BBC iPlayer, you can save yourself £174.50. But if you do watch or record live TV without a TV Licence, then you can be issued a fine of up to £1,000.