You paid in so don’t be proud – if you can get this pension benefit, claim it
Brian Sloan urges older people to make sure they are getting everything they are entitled to
It w a s n’t a t y p i c a l F r i d a y m o r n i n g t r i p i n t o t o w n . Instead of a stroll around the shops, pensioners gathered in Irvine town centre to burn their TV licence letters in protest at the end of the entitlement for all over-75s.
Across Scotland, thousands more have insisted they won’t pay, saying they will go to cour t if necessar y. Hundreds of thousands have signed a petition by Age Scotland and Age UK against the change.
The announcement that the free TV licence for all over-75s will end next year has attracted outrage across the country, with celebrities such as Still Game’s Ford Kiernan and Greg Hemphill jumping on board. This follows the Government’s decision to shift responsibility for it to the BBC, despite the Tories’ 2017 manifesto promise to maintain it.
A n ex t r a £ 1 5 4 a ye a r mi g h t n o t seem much, but it is another kick in the teeth to those who are already pinching pennies to make it to the end of each month.
It is also just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to a gradual erosion of suppor t for some of the poorest pensioners in our society.
T h e f r e e l i c e n c e , i n t r o d u c e d b y G o r d o n B r ow n , wa s o r i g i n a l - ly intended to top up a state p en - sion that is one of the lowest in the developed world. It’s part of a suite of entitlements, such as Winter Fuel Allowance, that are meant to ensure all older people can afford a decent standard of living. While removing
the licence payment has attracted a huge amount of publicit y, other changes have been more sneaky. Next Tuesday will be the last opportunity for ‘mixed age’ couples to apply for Pension Credit – worth up to £11,000 a year – following a change in the rules.
Dubbed the ‘age gap tax’ or ‘toy boy tax’, older p eople on low incomes will now be penalised if they have a younger par tner of working age. Their only option will be to apply for Universal Credit instead, leaving a family around £7000 a year worse off.
The change was announced early this year at the height of the Brexi t c i r c u s – a c l a s s i c ex a mpl e o f a good day to bur y bad news. It was o n l y a mon t h a f t e r wa r d t h a t t h e UK Government even came up with estimates of how many couples this was likely to affect – thought to be around 4000 in Scotland.
There’s a popular stereotype of an older generation of wealthy baby boomers, spending their retirement on exotic cruises while millennials struggle to save for a deposit on their first flat. But this couldn’t be further from the truth for the 170,000 older Scots who are living in poverty.
The extra cash isn’t to fund expensive holidays or second homes. It’s to put food on the table, buy adequate winter clothes, and pay soaring fuel bills – with perhaps a little left over for simple pleasures such as tea with a friend. A television isn’t a luxur y for the half of over-75s who say that it is their main form of company and window to the outside world.
In a relatively well-off country like Scotland, it’s scandalous that six in 10 single pensioners and four in 10 couples are struggling to make ends meet. Instead of enjoying their late r yea r s , t h e y a r e s p e n d i n g t h e m worrying about how to pay the next bill.
Even when help is available, far too many p eople are unaware of it or don’t claim the money they deserve. Pension Credit is one of the most underclaimed b enefits in the UK, with four in ten eligible households not taking it up. That’s a massive £330 million each year in Scotland that simply goes back to the Treasury.
One reason is the continued stigma around claiming benefits. Many people would rather get by than be seen to accept a ‘handout’. There is still some truth in that other stereo - type of the ‘Silent Generation’ – stoic older people who refuse to complain and feel too proud to ask for help.
But Pension Credit should be seen more as an entitlement – money that pensioners on the lowest incomes des er ve after paying into the syst e m a l l t h e i r l ive s . I t ’s e ve n mor e important now since it is a passport to fur ther supp or t, such as Housing Benefit, cold weather payments, and from next year, the over-75s’ TV licence. Another barrier is the perception that the pro cess is overly c o mp l i c a t e d a n d a r d u o u s . Ma ny people are reluctant to discuss their finances, concerned about privacy, and wary of filling in lengthy forms. Others are simply unaware that it is available.
A g e S c o t l a n d ’s h e l p l i n e h a s already helped thousands of people throughout S cotland claim more
than £600,000 last year, making a very real difference to their lives and lifting many out of poverty. People can get straight through to a friendly adviser who will talk them through the whole process and help them put in their claim.
There’s still a lot of work to be done to ensure every older person in Scotland can enjoy a dignified later life. We need to keep up the momentum and put pressure on decisionmakers to stop chip ping away at entitlements for older people who need them most.
But if anyone thinks they–or a friend or relative – might be entitled to extra support, pick up the phone and call our free and confidential helpline on 0800 12 44 222.
Brian Sloan, chief executive, Age Scotland.