Thousands of people missing out on £6,600 a year in unclaimed support

A benefits cheque run from Age UK and the Rothesay Foundation has recovered 76% successful a aviator radical were not claiming benefits they were eligible for

Thousands of older radical are being urged to cheque their benefits entitlement aft it was revealed the mean idiosyncratic is missing retired connected £6,600 a year.

A benefits cheque run from Age UK and the Rothesay Foundation has recovered 76% successful a aviator radical were not claiming benefits they were eligible for. The researchers recovered 37% of participants were missing retired connected Pension Credit, worthy £4,910 connected average, portion 66% of radical could beryllium claiming Attendance Allowance, with the emblematic assertion for a higher grant worthy £5,930.

A further 17% of participants were identified arsenic missing retired connected Housing Benefit, worthy £6,319 connected average. Over a 3rd were besides recovered eligible for backdated benefits from the constituent of applying (34%) portion 18% didn’t cognize however to assertion benefits and 15% weren’t alert the benefits existed. The Rothesay Foundation is donating a further £2.4 cardinal to grow Age UK’s benefits cheque work implicit the adjacent 2 winters.

Age UK wants to assistance up to a further 11,000 older radical successful request and place up to £55million successful unclaimed benefits. Paul Farmer, CEO astatine Age UK, said: “To date, we’ve already helped implicit 4,500 older radical place their payment entitlements, and implicit the adjacent 2 years we anticipation to scope adjacent more.

“From our conversations with older people, we cognize however life-changing this enactment tin be. Many are forced to marque intolerable choices betwixt heating, eating, buying lukewarm apparel oregon adjacent getting a tiny Christmas acquisition for a loved one. Older radical merit better. We are profoundly grateful to the Rothesay Foundation for its generosity and unwavering committedness to improving the lives of older people.”

James Dickson, Chairman of the Rothesay Foundation, said: “Too galore older radical are surviving successful request successful the UK contempt being eligible and entitled to greater fiscal support. Through our aviator run with Age UK, we cognize that benefits similar Pension Credit and Attendance Allowance tin beryllium life-changing, unlocking perchance thousands of pounds each twelvemonth for those successful need.”

You tin usage 1 of these pursuing escaped payment calculators to cheque what you could beryllium entitled to:

• Policy successful Practice benefits calculator
• entitledto benefits calculator
• Turn2us benefits calculator

You'll request to input accusation astir your surviving situation, your employment status, immoderate savings you have, and if you presently already person immoderate benefits. If these calculators amusement you whitethorn beryllium eligible for support, you tin either enactment successful a assertion for the applicable payment yourself, oregon get assistance by contacting Citizens Advice.