The latest figures from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) show that there are now some 12.6million people across Great Britain claiming their State Pension and out of that overall total 1.4million are also in receipt of a passport benefit worth around £3,500 on average each year. This means that 1.6million older people, including spouses and partners, are receiving additional financial support through Pension Credit.
Of the overall total number of people drawing their State Pension, 9.7million are receiving Basic State Pension payments of up to £141.85 per week (rising to £156.20 in April), compared to 2.9million getting the New State Pension, which is worth up to £185.15 each week (rising to £203.85 in April).
However, despite those figures, pensions expert Helen Morrissey, head of retirement analysis at Hargreaves Lansdown estimates there are some 1.8million older people receiving less than £100 per week from their State Pension. The DWP launched a new Pension Credit awareness campaign last April, which resulted in a 177 per cent take-up of the benefit by December 2022.
