April is not the cruellest month this year. Pensions and benefits go up on 6 April by 5%. The rise is in line with the Retail Prices Index last September. For once the index peaked at just the right moment and as it continues on its downwards course the new rates for pensions and benefits should mean a useful increase in real income for many older people.

Giving everyone an extra £60 is a rough and ready way of bringing forward the April pension rise to January. The £4.55 rise over 13 weeks from 5 January to 30 March would be £59.15. People who get more than the basic pension will still only get £60. But those who get less – including many married women – will also get the full £60. And unlike the pension itself, the £60 payment is tax-free and does not affect means-tested benefits.

The £60 is not paid to those who first got their pension on 29 December or later. Nor is it paid to those who have deferred their pension and it will not be added on when they claim in the future. People on incapacity benefit will only get the bonus if they have been on that benefit for at least a year. The £60 is not paid to people who live outside Europe.

Savings may stop you getting pension credit even if your income is low. Savings up to £6000 are ignored completely. Above that any income the savings earn is ignored. Instead, the first £1 above £6000 is assumed to give you an income of £1 a week and each £500 above that adds another £1 to this ‘tariff’ income. There is no upper limit to savings for pension credit claims and even those with a full basic pension and savings of £48,500 (single) or £62,500 (couple) can get a small amount of pension credit. If you have no income then from April you can have £96,000 (single) or £139,000 (couple) in savings and still get a small amount of pension credit.

The Treasury says most of the tax rates and allowances were announced in the Pre-Budget Report last November and any further changes announced on April 22 will be retrospectively applied back to the start of the tax year.

The G20 and the Budget could also give the Government a bounce in the polls just in case it wants to announce the date for the next general election. That can be as late as 3 June 2010. But normally an election is held the year before the five year term is up. So 2009 could be it.

In essence all scams are the same. The prey on our gullibility and, yes, our greed. One of the latest masquerades as HM Revenue & Customs and says you are owed a tax refund. All you have to do is click on a link in an email and then, of course, it asks for personal details and later a fee to process the claim. Another has latched on to the current concern about excessive bank charges and promises to recover them for you. But first, of course, it wants your bank details. And money.

The old favourites continue to reap a rich harvest. If someone calls or emails to say you have won a foreign lottery which you know you have not entered it is bound to be a fraud. Then there is the classic ‘Nigerian’ con which asks you to help transfer a very large sum of money to the UK. To do that you will be asked for your bank details and, once hooked, they will want money for expenses. If this was genuine you would be condoning criminal activity. As it is you will end up being the victim of it.

Stamp down inflation
By the time you get this Saga Magazine you will have just a few days to buy first and second class stamps before the price rises by about 10%. First and second class stamps rise by 3p to 39p and 30p up 8% and 11%. A large letter first class stamp goes up by 9p from 52p to 61p and second class up by 5p to 47p, rises of 17% and 12%. There are also big increases for posting letters abroad. So it is well worth buying first and second class standard and large stamps now at the old price. From 6 April they will be worth on average 12% more. You can use those stamps to make up the value of bigger amounts. So buy them now with a selection of 1p and 2p stamps and you can put the right stamps on most mail at almost the old prices.