MoneyWeek - Is the mixed age pension credit couples rule unfair?

In practice, this rule could mean a loss of several thousand pounds a year for households that are already financially stretched.

Couples will rarely enter into relationships, marry, or plan retirement around benefit eligibility, and I suspect many wouldn’t even be aware of the rule until it is too late. The fairness question is hard to ignore. Two households with identical incomes and needs can be treated very differently purely because of the age of one partner. That feels arbitrary, particularly given that Pension Credit is designed to prevent pensioner poverty, not to act as a behavioural lever on relationship choices.

In its current format, the rule saves the Exchequer money, but it does so by shifting financial risk onto some of the most vulnerable households. A transitional form of Pension Credit for mixed-age couples feels like a better way to ensure the safety net fulfils its purpose without penalising couples for ordinary demographic patterns and life choices.