With the impact of the cost of living crisis still squeezing finances and borrowing rates remaining high, many pensioner households could be missing out on thousands of pounds in much-needed income which they are entitled to receive, research by advisory firm HUB Financial Solutions reveals.
The survey of more than 1,000 over-65s found that 38% of homeowners had never checked if they were entitled to extra benefits, more than double the proportion of those renting (15%).
Despite government efforts to boost State Benefit take-up via campaigns and extra cost of living payments, only one-in-five (20%) homeowners said that they had checked their eligibility for benefits in the last year, compared to over four-in-10 (41%) renters.
“While inflation may be coming down, many pensioners will still have seen their budgets squeezed over the past few years. And the recent announcement by the Chancellor to limit winter fuel payments to those on pension credit or other means-tested benefits underlines how important it is for people to check their eligibility,” said Matt Halksworth, head of customer solutions and advisory leader at HUB Financial Solutions.
“However, our research suggests many homeowners are not even checking to see if they could be entitled to valuable financial support from the government. It suggests than many pensioners may think that owning a home could exclude them from benefits such as Pension Credit.”
Research from Just Group, the sister company of HUB Financial Solutions, through in-depth fact-finding interviews with clients seeking advice on equity release during 2023, found that of pensioner homeowners entitled to receive benefits, eight in 10 (79%) were failing to claim any benefit with each household missing out on an average of £1,231 a year extra income.
Please see full details in the attached press release and get in touch if you have any questions.
