Age UK and Independent Age say up to £11.3bn goes unclaimed across four key benefits and are urging the Government to adopt a national take-up strategy. The DWP says pensioner poverty is falling.
Older people are missing out on billions of pounds of support they are entitled to, according to a new report from the charities Age UK and Independent Age. The report estimates that up to £2.4bn in pension credit, £5.2bn in attendance allowance, £2.4bn in carer’s allowance and £1.3bn in housing benefit goes unclaimed. That is a combined total of up to £11.3bn. The charities say that for some pensioners on low incomes, the money could make the difference between heating and eating, and they have set out a blueprint to raise take-up.
The scale of the problem
The report says millions of older households are missing out. Official figures show that 1.7 million pensioners are living in poverty in the UK, with a further one million on the brink.
The charities identified long and complicated application forms and digital exclusion among the barriers that put people off claiming.
What the charities say
Joanna Elson, chief executive of Independent Age, said: “It is a sign of a failing social security system that the very people it was designed to support don’t receive the financial help they are entitled to.”
She added: “Billions of pounds of support is not reaching eligible households to help them cope with spiralling costs, from heating and water to food and rent. People should not have to overcome a maze of complex forms, confusing information or digital barriers to receive the financial support they are entitled to.”
Ms Elson said a UK Government take-up strategy “would bring together existing efforts, address gaps in support and prove to older people on a low income that there is a clear plan for delivering lasting change”. “It’s time to fix the holes in the social security safety net that we should all be able to rely on,” she said.
Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said: “Shameful numbers of older people who are eligible for a range of means-tested and health-related benefits that could transform their lives continue to miss out, and as a society we have arguably accepted this depressing state of affairs as though there is nothing we can do to change it.” She added: “If the political resolve is there such a strategy could make a real difference.”
The recommendations
The report makes four recommendations:
- raising awareness and understanding of who is eligible;
- simplifying application processes;
- streamlining and integrating systems; and
- increasing access to advice and support.
Government response
A spokesperson for the Department for Work and Pensions said: “We are working hard to get benefits to those who are entitled to them. Our biggest-ever pension credit take-up campaign meant that an additional 33,500 pension credit awards were made in 2025.”
They added that the £1bn Crisis and Resilience Fund can be used by councils to run schemes such as benefit support checks “so everyone knows what they’re entitled to”. “Recent statistics show pensioner poverty rates falling since 2021/22 as we prioritise efforts to help more pensioners access the support they need,” the spokesperson said.
