Older people missing out on pension help

WITH the arrival of Storm Darcy and the drop in temperatures in February, many of us were forced to crank the heating up to stay warm, but did you know that more than £1.3 million that could be given to help people in later life heat their homes isn’t reaching those who need it most in Derbyshire?

Our latest analysis at Independent Age found that almost 10,000 older people across the county potentially missed out on a £140 discount on their energy bills, because they are eligible for, but not receiving the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit.

As well as the Warm Home Discount scheme, Pension Credit acts as a gateway to a free TV licence for over 75s, free NHS prescriptions, council tax support, free eye tests and much more.

Combined, this could be worth around £7,000 per year for an individual. But uptake of Pension Credit has not risen above 64% for around a decade – the worst uptake of any income-related benefit.

We hear all too often from people in later life who have to choose between eating and heating their homes. Pension Credit can be genuinely life-changing, enabling people to afford the basics and enjoy life again. This is backed up by the facts. The latest research we commissioned found that by maximising Pension Credit uptake, we could reduce pensioner poverty to its lowest ever level under current records.

We need the government to urgently create an action plan that addresses the low uptake of Pension Credit. This must include a full communications strategy, awareness raising campaigns, trialling bold and innovative solutions, and new, high quality, up-to-date research into who is not claiming Pension Credit and why.

By working together with the government to identify and overcome any barriers, we are confident we can increase uptake and ultimately, improve the lives of people across Derbyshire in later life who are facing unnecessary financial struggles.

Deborah Alsina, chief executive of

Independent Age