As many as one million households are missing out on an additional £65 per week, warns the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The department has stated that many households do not claim the benefit as they wrongly believe that because they have savings or own their home they are not eligible for Pension Credit.
However, two new explainer-style YouTube videos have been shared by the DWP to help encourage people of State Pension age to check if they could qualify for the "passport" benefit, which is worth more than £3,000 each year. One of the videos is aimed at the individual considering making a claim, and another one is aimed at family members, reports The Liverpool Echo.
The department has also listed many of the main reasons that older people could be put off making a claim for Pension Credit, and myth busted some of the most common misconceptions that people may have. DWP Minister, Laura Trott MP, explained to the House of Commons on Monday (October 31) that auto-enrolment on to Pension Credit is not possible, but that she is keen to see take-up of the benefit increase.
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Ms Trott said: “It is difficult to enrol people automatically on Pension Credit given the data the Government holds. I am, however, keen to see how increased data sharing could be used to produce a larger number of claims.”
A number of reasons that stop people claiming Pension Credit could include the following.
Older people may wrongly think they are not eligible because they:
- have savings
- own their own home
- may be working
- may be getting a small occupational pension
- may have been turned down in the past
Other factors may be that they:
- do not want to be seen as needing to claim
- feel that they’re able to manage
- do not think it’s worth applying - as the amount they get will be very small
- do not recognise themselves as a Pension Credit claimant
- have not got around to it
- think it’s a complex and confusing subject
- already get other help and do not want to mess up the benefits they are getting
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To see if you are eligible, phone the Pension Credit helpline on 0800 99 1234 or use the GOV.UK Pension Credit calculator here to find out how much you could get. More information on Pension Credit call also be found on GOV.UK here.
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