The latest published estimates for the number of older people eligible for Pension Credit who are not claiming the annual support worth an average of £3,300 show that up to 850,000 pensioner households are missing out.
The figures were given by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in response to a question from Liberal Democrat MP for North East Fife, Wendy Chamberlain, on what estimate has been made of the number of people eligible for Pension Credit who have not yet applied and what assessment has been made of the potential reasons for people receiving State Pension payments not applying for the benefit.
In a written response, Julie Marson MP, said: “Previous DWP research found that the main reason pensioners don’t claim Pension Credit is because they believe that they are not eligible - they may think they have too much income, have savings or own their own home. There does also appear to be a secondary barrier around perceived stigma.”
