You could be one of the many whose pension fund, and subsequent pension annuity, is on the low side, entitling you to make a claim for Pension Credits. Millions of pensioners are potentially missing out on valuable cash benefits to which they are legally entitled, the government and pensioner groups said today. If you do not apply before the 6th October this year you could be missing out on up to one year’s backdated payments. Very important if that pension annuity is not enough.
Pensions minister Mike O’Brien has said many older people still mistakenly believe that owning a house or having some savings automatically disqualified them from eligibility for pension credits. This is not the case.
Some 2.7million pensioner households receive pension credit at an average of around £50 a week. The government’s stated goal is that no pensioner over the age of 60 should live on less than £124.05 a week. A bold statement, but even that isn’t really sufficient.
Some estimates put the value of unclaimed pension credits at up to £5 billion a year, and that’s an awful lot of money. The government is planning to write to around 250,000 elderly people over the next few weeks to encourage them to claim.
Help the Aged said tackling pensioner poverty was an urgent issue, and ‘claiming benefits which belong in older people’s pockets is crucial to that’. They estimate that around £5 billion worth of benefits are left unclaimed each year and that money could make a huge difference to the living standards of pensioners everywhere, many of whom are really struggling with the soaring cost of basics such as food and fuel. One years back claiming is possible if the claim is lodged on time.
Gordon Lishman, of Age Concern, said millions of pensioners were missing out on up to £5 billion in Pension Credit and other unclaimed benefits. This could make a ‘huge difference to their quality of life’, he said.
People can make these claims to get what is actually due to them. They shouldn’t be ashamed to claim, and we know many are. This money is better off in their back pockets than with the Government. It has been earmarked to help those less well off and should be taken up. They should make a claim now to ensure they don’t lose out on cash that’s rightfully theirs.
