The Government has launched a Pension Credit awareness drive to encourage pensioners who are not claiming the benefit to apply and make a backdated claim by 21 December to receive the Winter Fuel Payment.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced last month that most pensioners, except those on Pension Credit, will not receive winter fuel payments this winter which can be worth up to £300 annually, depending on age and household circumstances.
This could potentially impact around 880,000 households that are eligible but are yet to claim. It aligns with research by HUB Financial Solutions of more than 1,000 over-65s which found that 38 per cent of homeowners had never checked if they were entitled to extra benefits, more than double the proportion of those renting which is at 15 per cent.
Additionally, only 20 per cent of homeowners said that they had checked their eligibility for benefits in the last year, compared to 41 per cent of renters.
Meanwhile, according to research from Just Group, 9 per cent were claiming but receiving less than what they were entitled to and missing out on an additional £476 a year income.
HUB Financial Solutions head of customer solutions and advisory leader Matt Halksworth says: “While inflation may be coming down, many pensioners will still have seen their budgets squeezed over the past few years. And the recent announcement by the Chancellor to limit winter fuel payments to those on pension credit or other means-tested benefits underlines how important it is for people to check their eligibility.
“However, our research suggests many homeowners are not even checking to see if they could be entitled to valuable financial support from the government. It suggests that many pensioners may think that owning a home could exclude them from benefits such as Pension Credit.”
