Over 3,200 pensioner households in Milton Keynes are estimated to be missing out on pension credit each year, according to a study by charity Independent Age.
This means that there is approximately £7.7m left unclaimed in Milton Keynes alone, totalling to around £45 per household per week.
Recent figures published for 2017/18 by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) show that the up-take of Pension Credit was 61%, meaning that across the country nearly two in five pensioner households entitled to Pension Credit did not receive it. Across the country, 1.15 million pensioner households missed out on Pension Credit, meaning £2.5 billion has been held on to by the Government.
Pension Credit is an entitlement designed to keep pensioners out of poverty by topping up pensions to a minimum level of £167 per week for a single person, and £255 for a couple.
Deborah Alsina MBE, Chief Executive of Independent Age, said: “Pension Credit was introduced to provide vital financial help to older people who are most in need, yet 1.15 million pensioner households, including 122,000 in the South East, are missing out on an average of £2028 per year. Single women are particularly affected, making up 74% of single people who are eligible to claim but haven’t done so.
”The DWP have not conducted new research - on who is not receiving this benefit, where they live, and why they are not claiming - for a decade. These new statistics clearly demonstrate that up-to-date research is needed to gain a better understanding of why this money is not getting to the people entitled to it.”
The charity claims that during a recent inquiry in the Scottish Parliament, the DWP confirmed that if all older people received the benefits they were entitled to, including Pension Credit, pensioner poverty would be reduced to almost zero.
Pensioner Anisah Rani, 86, said prior to becoming aware of her eligibility for Pension Credit, she had struggled to afford everyday household essentials. Ms Rani added: "I was hungry sometimes. It was very often a decision of whether I would eat, or turn on the heating."
“Since receiving Pension Credit, it’s been a whole new way of life. I could eat better and be healthier. It changed my life, because of the other benefits that I was able to access – the optician, and dentist, and medication that I needed.
“There are many people today who don’t know about Pension Credit. I really think the government needs to tell us older people what is available, and what they’re prepared to do for us.”
The DWP has recently announced a 12-week awareness-raising initiative around Pension Credit.
Deborah Alsina MBE added: “This is a welcome initiative, but will not go far enough to tackle the issues at the heart of this problem.
“The DWP must set targets to improve up-take and deliver a comprehensive action plan to increase the number of people receiving the money they need.”
According to Independent Age, approximately 122,000 pensioner households in the South East region are losing out on the pension credit they are entitled to. As a result, the charity has launched the 'Credit where it's due' campaign. Find out more here.
MKFM has contacted the DWP for comment.
