Scots OAPS missing out on free TV licence

Pensioners across Scotland have been urged to take advantage of changes to the pension credit system which allows them to continue to receive a free television licence, amid warnings that more than 54,000 Scots are missing out on their entitlement.

Changes to the licensing scheme have meant that those aged 75 and over had to start paying the licence fee as of the start of August, but there is an exemption in place for those in receipt of pension credit.

However, it is estimated that only six in ten pensioners are claiming the benefit, meaning hundreds of thousands of people across the UK are currently missing out.

Research by Turn2us, a national poverty charity, estimates that as many as 54,193 Scots are affected, with Glasgow the local authority where the most pensioners are not claiming their entitlement.