Almost two-fifths or 38 per cent of senior homeowners over 65 have never examined if they are eligible for state benefits beyond their state pension, according to HUB Financial Solutions.
A survey of over 1,000 persons aged 65 and up revealed that 38 per cent of homeowners had never examined their eligibility for additional benefits, compared to 15 per cent of renters. Despite government efforts to promote state benefits enrolment, just 20 per cent of homeowners confirmed their eligibility in the previous year, compared to 41 per cent of renters.
According to Just Group research, senior homeowners suffer significant financial losses as a result of missing out on state benefits. It found that 79 per cent of eligible retiree householders missed out on benefits, losing an average of £1,231 each year. Furthermore, 9 per cent claimed but received less than they were entitled to, losing an additional £476 each year.
According to government data for 2022, up to 880,000 retiree families failed to claim Pension Credit, losing around £2,200 each year, and 360,000 missed out on housing benefits, losing almost £3,400 per year. Overall, £3.4 billion in benefits remained unclaimed.
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 than many pensioners may think that owning a home could exclude them from benefits such as Pension Credit.”
Halksworth says: “It is particularly disheartening to see so many homeowners aged over 65s are not checking their benefit entitlement when we know so many are eligible and missing out on significant amounts of income.
“We urge pensioners, homeowners or otherwise, not to simply assume that they are not entitled for support, and instead to take full advantage of the many free-to-use resources that can help individuals identify their eligibility for benefits and how to claim them.”