Pension credit claims for the 2024/25 year to date have reached 300,000, according to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), surpassing the 251,100 applications received during the entire 2023/24 period.
About 235,000 pension credit claims have been submitted since the 29 July 2024 announcement that Winter Fuel Payments would be means-tested, an 81 per cent increase (or 105,100 more applications) compared to the same period in 2023/24.
Of these, 117,800 claims have been approved, marking a 64 per cent rise from the previous year.
Just Group group communications director at retirement specialist Stephen Lowe says: “The scrutiny on the take up of Pension Credit has been more intense since the Government limited winter fuel payments to people who are in receipt of the benefit.
“This extra focus on Pension Credit appears to have increased awareness among the hundreds of thousands of households which are eligible for Pension Credit but were failing to claim. This coupled with the prospect of the loss of the winter fuel payments has encouraged more low-income pensioner households to check if they are eligible to claim Pension Credit.
“It is good news that over 100,000 more people have applied for Pension Credit since the winter fuel payment announcement, compared to the same period last year, with successful applications also up significantly. This is valuable income which will support those retirees most in need every year.
“However, there is still a huge number of pensioners who are failing to claim – it may be they are simply unaware of the benefit, assume they are not eligible or do not know how to claim. Our own research among over-65s found that nearly four in 10 (38 per cent) pensioner homeowners and one in seven (15 per cent) of renters had never checked their benefit entitlement.
“It is critical that the help available reaches those who need it and there are a range of free resources to help people and families check eligibility if they suspect elderly relatives may be missing out on valuable support. The government website has links to useful third-party calculators while other good sources are Citizens Advice, local councils and charities.”
