State pensioners urged to check eligibility after major change | Personal Finance | Finance

State pensioners are being urged to make sure they know when they are eligible for a free bus pass. It comes after the Government put out an update on bus passes following a major state pension change.

The Department for Transport has confirmed that in line with the rise in state pension age, it will be changing the age at which a person qualifies for a free bus pass. The changes by the Department for Work and Pensions mean that the state pension age has increased.

People who turn 66 within a transitional period will have to wait longer to claim their pension as well as the bus pass.

In a statement, the Department for Transport, said: “Eligibility for an older person’s bus pass under the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme is linked to State Pension age. This means eligibility will change in line with the increase in State Pension age from April.

“People born between 6 April 1960 and 5 March 1961 will qualify at 66 plus a specified number of months, depending on their date of birth. There is a tool to check the date people become eligible for a bus pass at Check your State Pension age – GOV.UK, by entering their date of birth.”

Those born between April 6, 1960 and March 5, 1961, will currently reach their state pension age at 66, plus a number of months.

Those waiting for updates can expect correspondence from the pension service about four months before they reach state pension age.