Thousands of North East pensioners could have a better retirement thanks to a campaign the Government is running to encourage more retired people to sign up for pension credit.
A trial which will directly target pensioners who might qualify for pension credit will launch in the summer, and some homes in the Teesside area will be part of the pilot. Worth up to an additional £3,500 a year, the benefit tops up low retirement income and it thought that around one in three eligible pensioners miss out on payments as it is not given automatically.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has just run a week of action , with charities and broadcasters to get people to check their eligibility and apply for pension credit and 10 places have now been chosen to pilot the direct approach.
