I have a taxable pension, but I haven't paid in any income tax on it. Does this still apply to me?

If you have a taxable pension so that you can file a tax return, then you may qualify to claim the grandchildren. However, you will need to make sure that your income is higher than either one of the parents of the grandchildren and that you qualify to claim them under one of the sets of rules below.

Can a retired great grandmother claim grandchild that  lives with me?

It depends. You may be eligible to claim your grandchild as a dependent and qualify for the associated tax benefits if your grandchild is not the qualifying child of anyone else. If your grandchild’s parent(s) live with you, the child may be the qualifying child of either parent but if the child’s parents don’t claim the child, you can claim your grandchild if your adjusted gross income (AGI) is higher than the parents. For more information, read the tiebreaker rules.

To determine if your grandchild is your qualifying child, the following questions must be true.

For a Qualifying child 

• They must be related to you. 
• They can't be claimed as a dependent by someone else. 
• They must be a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident. 
• If they are married, they can't file a joint return with their spouse. 
• They must be under the age of 19 (or 24 for full-time students). 
  • No age limit for permanently and totally disabled children. 
• They must have lived with you for more than half the year (exceptions apply). 
• They didn't provide more than half of their own support for the year. 

You may be eligible for the following tax benefits if you claim your grandchild as your dependent.

• Head of Household filing status
• Earned Income Credit (EIC)
• Child and Dependent Care Credit
• Child Tax Credit
• Medical expense deduction
• Education Credits

For additional information, review the TurboTax article Rules for Claiming a Dependent on Your Tax Return.

If your income is not income earned from working, you will not get child-related credits like earned income credit or the refundable child tax credit.   Tax year 2021 was the one year in which you could do that, but the rules have reverted back to the "old" rules---without income from working you cannot get any sort of refund for claiming children on a 2023 return.

@rmn_wlls @Gram Carol 

I realized that one thing may not have been made clear enough here for grandparents who are claiming grandchildren as dependents.   You will not be eligible for child-related refundable credits if you had no income from working, but your grandchild(ren) can qualify you for Head of Household filing status.   If you have taxable income from pensions, retirement accounts, etc. etc. that filing status makes less of your income taxable.  So even though you will not get the child tax credit, enter your grandchildren as dependents----it will make a difference for you.

To claim a grandchild as your dependent

When you enter the child’s name in Personal Info, you will be asked “What’s your relationship to  [child’s name]?”  

           Choose “another person”

            a drop down menu will appear that lets you choose grandchild

Am I Head of Household?

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1894553-do-i-qualify-for-head-of-household

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/2900097-what-is-a-qualifying-person-for-head-of-household

If you qualify as Head of Household, when you enter your marital status (single or married filing separately) into MyInfo, and then enter your qualifying dependent, TurboTax will offer HOH as your filing status.