State pensioners urged to check if they can get £8,300 income boost | Personal Finance | Finance
Older Britons have been urged to do a DWP benefits check that could boost their income by £8,300.
Experts have urged people to check if they are entitled to Pension Credit, as the benefit tops up your weekly income and provides access to a host of other support.
Recent figures showed 40 percent of those entitled to the benefit are not claiming meaning hundreds of thousands of people are missing out.
Claimants get on average £4,000 top up to their income through the benefit but there are many other financial perks to being on the benefit.
Joanna Elson, chief executive of Independent Age, said: “Even if you only receive an extra pound through Pension Credit, it is still worth claiming because of the additional entitlements you can access.
“With the UK Government’s proposed changes to make the Winter Fuel Payment means-tested – including to people on Pension Credit – it’s more important than ever that everyone receives what they are entitled to.
“On top of the Winter Fuel Payment – worth between £100 and £300 and paid every winter to help with energy bills – receiving Pension Credit entitles you to a host of other financial entitlements, potentially worth up to almost £8,000 a year on top.”
Extra benefits that Pension Credit provide access to include a free TV licence for those over the age of 75, council tax reductions, Housing Benefit, free NHS dental treatment, and vouchers towards buying glasses or contact lenses.
Some broadband and water companies also offer additional reductions to bills to claimants Pension Credit.
Ms Elson said: “To find out whether you could be entitled, you can call Independent Age’s free helpline at 0800 319 6789.
“Our trained advisers can take you through what you could be entitled to and how to apply. You can also apply by visiting the gov.uk website.”
To be eligible for the benefit, you have to be of state pension age, although you do not need to be claiming your state pension.
Pension Credit tops up a single person’s income to £218.15 a week or up to £332.95 for couples.
DWP figures show that as of February 2024, there were 1.4 million people receiving Pension Credit, with 11,000 fewer recipients compared to the previous year.
Jon Greer, head of retirement policy at Quilter, urged pensioners to check if they are eligible. He said: “It is an incredibly important benefit targeted towards the poorest pensioners in the country.
“The take-up of Pension Credit is a policy issue for this Government as much as the previous one, arguably more so given the change in the Winter Fuel Payment eligibility.
“Linking winter fuel payments to a benefit which appears to have just 60 percent take up has drawn broad consternation.
“At present, despite many media and Government awareness campaigns, there are many pensioners who are missing out on claiming pension credits despite being eligible.
“This is most often due to a lack of awareness or an assumption being made that they will not be eligible, but not checking could be incredibly costly as you may not only be missing out on a substantial boost to your retirement income, but now the Winter Fuel Payment too.”
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