![\"Elderly](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/elderly-pensioner.jpg\")
<\/p>\nNearly three-quarters of pensioner homeowners who qualify for state support are failing to claim the money they are entitled to, according to new research.<\/p>\n
The findings showed that those missing out were losing an average of \u00a31,339 each year.<\/p>\n
The data comes from retirement specialist Just Group’s annual State Benefits Insight Report published in September.<\/p>\n
It found that 42 per cent of pensioner homeowners were entitled to at least one key state benefit.<\/p>\n
However, a significant proportion were either not claiming at all or were not receiving their full entitlement.<\/p>\n
The research was based on detailed interviews conducted throughout 2025 with people seeking equity release advice.<\/p>\n
Beyond those not claiming any support, the report found that a further 14 per cent of pensioner homeowners who were receiving benefits were not getting the full amount they were entitled to.<\/p>\n
These households were missing out on an average of \u00a31,162 per year.<\/p>\n
David Cooper, director at Just Group, said the findings highlighted a widespread issue among older homeowners.<\/p>\n
“Our survey once again reveals what appears to be an epidemic of pensioner homeowners missing out on income they are entitled to claim.”<\/p>\n
He said those affected were typically on low incomes and were likely to be struggling with rising living costs.<\/p>\n
Nearly three\u2011quarters of eligible pensioner homeowners aren\u2019t claiming the state support they\u2019re entitled to<\/p>\n
| <\/p>\n
GETTY<\/p>\n
Mr Cooper said: “These are low-income households who are likely finding the cost-of-living crisis particularly tough.”<\/p>\n
The report highlighted Guaranteed Pension Credit as a key concern.<\/p>\n
Guaranteed Pension Credit is the main means-tested benefit for older people on low incomes and acts as a gateway to other support.<\/p>\n
These additional benefits include help such as Winter Fuel Payment and council tax support.<\/p>\n
However, the research found that more than two thirds of those eligible for Guaranteed Pension Credit were not claiming it.<\/p>\n
Mr Cooper said: “Guaranteed Pension Credit is the main means-tested benefit for older people, and a gateway to a range of other benefits such as Winter Fuel Payment, but we found more than two thirds who were eligible were missing out.”<\/p>\n
The report showed wide variation in take-up rates across different benefits.<\/p>\n
Guarantee Pension Credit was only being claimed by three in ten of those who qualified.<\/p>\n
![\"Elderly](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1767911950_633_elderly-pensioner.jpg\")
As a result, affected households were losing an average of \u00a3394 each year<\/p>\n
| <\/p>\n
GETTY<\/p>\n
Council Tax Reduction had an even lower take-up rate, research finding that 41 per cent of pensioner homeowners were eligible for Council Tax Reduction.<\/p>\n
However, only 24 per cent of those eligible were claiming the support which left households missing out on an average of \u00a31,050 annually.<\/p>\n
Savings Pension Credit had a higher take-up rate than other benefits, with the report finding 56 per cent of eligible pensioners were claiming it.<\/p>\n
Those who did not claim were losing an average of \u00a3453 per year.<\/p>\n
Universal Credit showed a different pattern – eligibility rates among pensioner homeowners were lower, but the financial impact was significantly higher.<\/p>\n
Take-up stood at 60 per cent, with non-claiming households missing out on an average of \u00a33,926 each year.<\/p>\n
The findings from Just Group align with wider Government data on benefit take-up.<\/p>\n
Official figures for 2023\/24 showed that up to 910,000 families entitled to Pension Credit did not claim it, resulting in around \u00a32.5billion going unclaimed.<\/p>\n
On average, this equated to roughly \u00a32,600 per family.<\/p>\n
Mr Cooper suggested that pensioner homeowners may be particularly likely to miss out because of misconceptions around eligibility.<\/p>\n
![\"Elderly](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1767911951_936_elderly-pensioner.jpg\")
Some people wrongly assume that owning a home automatically disqualifies them from receiving state support<\/p>\n
| <\/p>\n
GETTY<\/p>\n
Mr Cooper said: “It’s important cash-strapped pensioner households do not simply assume there is no State help available \u2013 a five-minute check could unlock thousands of pounds of income each year.”<\/p>\n
The report encouraged pensioners and their families to review their benefit entitlement.<\/p>\n
Free benefits calculators are available on the Government website<\/a>.<\/p>\n Support is also available from organisations including MoneyHelper<\/a>, Citizens Advice<\/a> and Age UK<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nearly three-quarters of pensioner homeowners who qualify for state support are failing to claim the money they are…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":397041,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[45,49,48,133,134,19939,6107,131,132],"class_list":{"0":"post-397040","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-personal-finance","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-finance","12":"tag-money","13":"tag-pension-credit","14":"tag-pensions","15":"tag-personal-finance","16":"tag-personalfinance"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397040","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=397040"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397040\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/397041"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=397040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=397040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=397040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}