Almost three out of four pensions have not checked their eligibility for state benefits, because they believe their income or savings are too high. New research from Hub Financial Solutions founds that a fifth of pensioners (21 per cent) believed the value of their home would disqualify them from state benefits.
However this is often not the case. Hub Financial Solutions found that among its customers, six out of 10 pensioners eligible for benefits were failing to claim this state help. This research was among its customers who were homeowners and exploring equity release options.
Hub Financial Solutions said that in these cases each household was missing out on an average of £1,100 a year extra income. It adds that a further one in four (24 per cent) were claiming support, but receiving less than their entitlement, on average missing out on £660 a year.
While many customers were not checking their eligibility because they did not think they would qualify for benefits, Hub found that 10 per cent of people said they ddi not know how to check or apply for state benefits.
Given the current cost of living crisis Hub says it is important that all pensioners struggling to make ends meet explore all options to ensure they are getting the benefits to which they are entitled.
Hub Financial Solutions managing director Simon Gray says: “With billions of pounds of benefit income going unclaimed every year, it is vital that those struggling financially are not missing out because they wrongly assume they are not eligible.
“There is a huge range of resources for pensioners to help them check whether they could be entitled to receive additional State support. It is easy, free and could be worth substantial sums if they are able to claim some extra help.”
