The cold weather is certainly starting to kick in and with energy bills rocketing, any extra cash going into the household budget is welcome. Additional cash is available to some older people and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has announced that it will continue to encourage those eligible to claim.
In fact, the government department is urging more than 11 million older people to check if they qualify for an annual income top-up worth, on average, more than £3,500 throughout December and the new year. It is also reminding eligible pensioners that making a new claim for Pension Credit before December 18, 2022, which later turns out to be successful, will result in a backdated cost of living payment worth £324. This is because a claim for Pension Credit can be backdated for up to three months taking it to the final qualifying date of September 25.
Some 149,579 Pension Credit claims were received by DWP between April and October this year, according to a report in Daily Record. Some 118,598 of those claims have now been processed. DWP has also reassigned the full time equivalent of 100 colleagues and recruited 85 temporary staff to process the increased levels of Pension Credit claims following a successful UK-wide awareness campaign in June.
