Age Scotland has identified a record £2,116,447 of unclaimed benefits for older people who called the charity’s helpline in 2024 – an increase of 34% on the previous year.
However the Scottish charity for older people stressed that the amount could be the ‘tip of the iceberg’ with millions of pounds still going unclaimed by older people who are entitled to more financial support.
Last year Age Scotland was part of a campaign urging older people on low or moderate incomes to check if they were entitled to Pension Credit, after the UK government scrapped the Winter Fuel Payment for anyone not in receipt of the benefit.
Pension Credit is available to people over State Pension age on low incomes or with modest savings, to help with the cost of living. Attendance Allowance is for people over State Pension age who have a physical or mental disability.
Katherine Crawford, Age Scotland’s chief executive, said: “The UK government’s shock decision last year to remove the Winter Fuel Payment for all pensioners except those who received Pension Credit made it abundantly clear just how important it is for older people to claim all the benefits they are entitled to.
“We know that many callers to our helpline are facing severe financial hardship, and that claiming the full range of benefits can make a significant difference to their lives. It can be the difference between heating their home or not and being able to eat well.
“While we welcome the increase in the amount of money uncovered in 2024, we still believe this is only the tip of the iceberg. There are millions of pounds of benefits set aside for older people – money which could be life changing – which is not being claimed.
“Our helpline advisors can carry out a full benefits check and help callers navigate the complex benefits system. We also have an online benefits calculator, and we would encourage older people to make use of our helpline or the calculator to ensure that every penny gets into the right hands.”
Anyone over the age of 50 can call the Age Scotland national helpline on 0800 12 44 222.
Case Study 1:
Mrs Smith is in her 50s and currently unable to work through ill health. Her husband is a pensioner and has suddenly become unwell himself. Their adult son lives with them.
Mrs Smith called our helpline worried about how she would cope financially. Our advisors were able to examine a number of financial scenarios based on the potential award of benefits such as Attendance Allowance, Carer’s Allowance, Council Tax Reduction, Adult Disability Payment, Employment and Support Allowance and Universal Credit, as well as the effect of her son leaving home if this occurred.
The potential financial gain to Mrs Smith identified was £8,724.04 each year. This would make a huge difference and alleviated some of Mrs Smith’s worries and concerns. We were able to explain how to go about claiming the benefits and where to get help if needed along with providing a range of publications for more information.
Case Study 2
Mr Brown is approaching pension age and not able to work through ill health. He and his wife are receiving a means tested benefit but were not sure if it would stop at pension age.
Mr Brown and his wife are both in receipt of disability benefits and she also gets Carer’s Allowance for helping to look after him. They called our helpline worried and unsure about their future financial circumstances.
Our advisors completed a benefit check and identified that Mr Brown and his wife are currently being underpaid on their existing benefit and that, by correcting this, not only will they be entitled to significant arrears but this will mean they are also able to receive some Universal Credit after Mr Brown reaches pension age. We explained how to go about disputing the underpayment, how and when to claim the new benefits, and what support might be available to do this.
We also explained that Mr Brown had been misadvised by his energy supplier in relation to obtaining the £150 Warm Home Discount, how to go about disputing this and what he might be able to do if there were any problems.
The total financial gain identified for 2024 was £6,637.10. Mr Brown felt reassured about the situation following the call.
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