A third of people missing out on Pension Credits of over £50 per week

Households in England, Scotland and Wales aren't claiming thousands of pounds a year in pension credits they could be eligible for, a Department for Work & Pensions report published today revealed. In 2023-2024, 32% of potentially eligible households were missing out on claiming more than £50 per week in pension credits, it found.

The report showed that the Pension Credit receipt-rate was highest amongst households entitled to more than £150 per week (86%) and lowest for households entitled to less than £5 per week (30%). It appeared to indicate that the receipt rate increases as the weekly eligible amount of Pension Credit rises.

Scotland was found to have the highest receipt-rate across Great Britain (67%), followed by Wales (64%) and England (63%).

The report explains that in the analysis for this period "over a third (34% – 282,000) of potentially eligible households were entitled to a weekly amount of less than £15" which it says "appears to be a 'tipping point' amount after which an eligible household is more likely to be in receipt of Pension Credit".

"Generally, as the weekly eligible amount decreases, the number of potentially eligible households who were not claiming Pension Credit increases," it added.

"Conversely, as the weekly eligible amount increases, the number of eligible households in receipt of Pension Credit increases. In other words, as the amount that households could receive decreases, the less likely they were to be receiving Pension Credit."

Philly Ponniah, Chartered Wealth Manager and Financial Coach at Philly Financial, said: "It’s deeply worrying that nearly a third of eligible pensioners are missing out on money that could make a real difference to their weekly budget. £50 a week might not sound like much, but over a year that’s more than £2,500, enough to ease pressure on essentials or help cover rising energy costs.

“Many simply don’t realise they qualify, especially if they own their home or have small savings. Better awareness and simpler claims could go a long way to ensuring older people receive the support they’re entitled to.”

Laura Purkess, Personal Finance Expert at Investing Insiders, said pension credit has always been vastly under-claimed for a number of reasons.

"The biggest barrier to take-up — despite a huge engagement push — is simply a lack of awareness, and that's a major problem with anything where you have to apply rather than it being administered automatically," she continued.

"Even where people have heard of it, the application process itself is another major barrier. It requires proving financial information, and some elderly people find this daunting, or may never have managed their own finances and so don't have the necessary information to hand.

"The welfare system in this country is generally overcomplicated and the result is thousands of people who qualify for help not getting it.

“We need to make these processes as simple as possible, with plenty of help on hand, and further engagement is essential to ensure people aren't needlessly struggling in retirement.”