State pensioners are being urged to claim a total of £6,600 in benefits they are entitled to but missing out on.
Two key groups who campaign for pensioners, charity Age UK as well as the Rothesay Foundation, conducted a study and found that 76 percent of pensioners were not claiming benefits they were entitled to – worth an average of £6,600 each.
The biggest absent benefits were Pension Credit, Attendance Allowance and Housing Benefit but if you start a new claim now for any of these three, you could start receiving the money in December.
Pension Credit is a low income benefit for those of state pension age. As a general rule, anyone with income lower than £218 a week (so everyone on the old basic state pension who began claiming pre-2016), or £332 a week in a couple, is eligible to claim Pension Credit from the government, but as many as 800,000 people who can get the money are not claiming it.
Age UK’s research found that 37 percent of people in its study were missing out on Pension Credit, averaging a loss of £4,910 a year.
Attendance Allowance is a benefit for those of state pension age who need extra help with costs if they have a disability or health conditions which means they need someone else to look after them.
Worth as much as £108.55 a week, it is money to support pensioners who have one of a range of physical or mental disabilities or are otherwise suffering a health condition not including mobility issues. Age UK found 66 percent were missing this, to the tune of £5,830 each per year.
Finally, Housing Benefit is a help for housing costs (not surprisingly). Although it is being replaced by Universal Credit, pensioners can still start a new claim for Housing Benefit.
The research showed 17 percent were missing out on this benefit, costing an average of £6,319 per year.
Paul Farmer, CEO at Age UK, said: “To date, we’ve already helped over 4,500 older people identify their benefit entitlements, and over the next two years we hope to reach even more. From our conversations with older people, we know how life-changing this support can be. Many are forced to make impossible choices between heating, eating, buying warm clothes or even getting a small Christmas gift for a loved one. Older people deserve better. We are deeply grateful to the Rothesay Foundation for its generosity and unwavering commitment to improving the lives of older people.”
James Dickson, Chairman of the Rothesay Foundation, said: “Too many older people are living in need in the UK despite being eligible and entitled to greater financial support. Through our pilot campaign with Age UK, we know that benefits like Pension Credit and Attendance Allowance can be life-changing, unlocking potentially thousands of pounds each year for those in need.”