Martin Lewis has issued a 24-hour warning to pensioners who could miss out on a £301 payment from the government.
The money-saving expert said up to a million eligible pensioners who have not claimed the Pension Credit benefit from the Department for Work and Pensions should do so before the deadline on Friday.
Mr Lewis said single pensioners with income under £220 a week or pensioner couples with income under £320 a week could be entitled to the Pension Credit.
He warned pensioners on the lowest income to check if they are eligible and claim the payment so they do not miss out.
“If you’re eligible for pension credit and you’re missing out you need to check now, today, or tomorrow or Friday at the latest, because if you are eligible then you get that extra £301,” Mr Lewis told ITV’s Good Morning Britain viewers.
Warning that up to a million eligible pensioners could miss out on the payment, Mr Lewis explained there are “loads of reasons” people have not checked if they can claim the payment. “People don’t know about it,” he said.
However, Mr Lewis said the government are trying to push people to claim the Pension Credit benefit.
Mr Lewis also said some pensioners have not claimed the payment because they think they will only receive a small amount. However, the money-saving expert explained the benefit “is a gateway to so many more entitlements”.
“Even if pension credit itself is trivial, everything else it opens the door to is massive,” Mr Lewis said, explaining that claiming the payment could mean you are entitled to a larger cost-of-living payment from the government of £900, council tax benefit, housing benefit, or help with your dental and optical costs.
Over 75s who are eligible for the payment could also be entitled to a free TV license, Mr Lewis said. He added: “Let us together as a nation work to try and get those million pensioners on the lowest incomes who are missing out to claim what they have paid into the system for years that they are entitled to.”
The warning comes as more than seven million households across the UK will have received a £301 cost-of-living payment by the end of Wednesday, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has said.
The payments are part of a package of wider government support announced to tackle the cost of living in 2023-24, including a further £300 payment for eligible families in autumn 2023, with a payment of £299 in spring 2024.
Work and pensions secretary Mel Stride said the payment underlines the government’s “commitment to ensure those on the lowest income are protected from the worst of rising prices and give them peace of mind.”
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said: “We know the impact that rising prices are having on families, which is why we are providing significant support to millions through these direct cash payments.”
People will be eligible for the £301 cost-of-living payment if they have been entitled to a payment for certain benefits between 16 January and 15 February 2023, including, for example, universal credit, pension credit and child tax credit.
