{"id":477151,"date":"2026-03-15T15:45:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-15T15:45:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/477151\/"},"modified":"2026-03-15T15:45:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-15T15:45:11","slug":"state-pensioners-warned-youre-missing-out-on-2600-boost-personal-finance-finance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/477151\/","title":{"rendered":"State pensioners warned \u2018you\u2019re missing out\u2019 on \u00a32,600 boost | Personal Finance | Finance"},"content":{"rendered":"

Millions of pensioners<\/a> could be missing out on thousands of pounds in extra financial support, with experts warning some older people<\/a> are losing \u00a32,600 a year. New analysis from Age UK suggests around one million pensioners<\/a> eligible for Pension Credit<\/a> are not claiming it, despite the benefit topping up incomes and unlocking access to other support. Figures show that 38% of pensioner families who could claim Pension Credit are missing out, leaving a total of \u00a32.1billion in benefits<\/a> unclaimed.<\/p>\n

On average, those who are eligible but not claiming are missing around \u00a350 per week, equivalent to about \u00a32,600 per year. The charity says the situation is particularly concerning for older women, who are more likely to face financial hardship in retirement. Age UK analysis of Department for Work and Pensions (DWP<\/a>) data shows the number of female pensioners has fallen by 740,000 since 2010-11 following increases in the State Pension<\/a> age for women.<\/p>\n

However, despite this change, the number of women living in poverty has remained steady at around 1.1 million. The charity says this highlights a failure of policy and practice that must be addressed.<\/p>\n

Older women often face lower retirement<\/a> incomes than men because they are more likely to have had lower earnings, time out of the labour market or part-time work while raising children or caring for relatives.<\/p>\n

The DWP estimates there are 470,000 single women who are entitled to Pension Credit<\/a> but are not receiving it. That figure is far higher than the number of single men missing out (150,000) or pensioner couples (200,000).<\/p>\n

Age UK is urging families to check whether older relatives may be eligible, especially as Mother\u2019s Day approaches.<\/p>\n

Pension Credit boosts income to a minimum level and can also act as a gateway to other support, including council tax<\/a> discounts, help with energy bills and a free TV licence for people aged over 75.<\/p>\n

Caroline Abrahams CBE, charity director at Age UK, said: \u201cAs Mother\u2019s Day approaches, and with the Middle East conflict<\/a> potentially threatening higher prices for energy and other essentials further down the track, there\u2019ll never be a better time for older women to check whether they are missing out on financial entitlements that could ease their anxieties about making ends meet.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt Age UK we are proud of the millions in Pension Credit<\/a> and other benefits which we help older people to claim each month, but it shouldn\u2019t be down to us to ensure they get their due. We urge the Government to keep working at reforming the system, with the aim of reaching a position in which older people can get the help they need without having to jump through hoops and put in a claim. This may sound far-fetched but as technology advances and Government data systems work together more effectively than they do today, it should become possible in time.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, for now, the onus is on all of us to look out for the older women we know as family and friends, especially if they\u2019re struggling financially, and encourage them to check their entitlements.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany older women are intensely self-reliant, reluctant to ask for help, and conscious that there are others who may be worse off than they are. That\u2019s why some gentle prompting to look into their eligibility for Pension Credit from those they trust is so important. It could make the difference between an older woman having to worry constantly about money on the one hand, and living a comfortable and peaceful life on the other.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the face of the latest worrying figures showing Pension Credit<\/a> take up going down rather than up, the Government must also clearly do more to raise public awareness and support older men and older women who may be eligible to claim. There is absolutely no room for complacency.\u201d<\/p>\n

Age UK is urging pensioners to take three simple steps:<\/p>\n

Check eligibility for Pension Credit<\/a> and other pensioner benefitsApply early – claims can be made up to four months before reaching State Pension ageEncourage others to check, particularly anyone struggling with energy or food costs<\/p>\n

The charity says support can make a huge difference. In January 2026, Age UK\u2019s benefits team carried out 538 benefit entitlement checks, with 66% of people found to be eligible for additional support.<\/p>\n

On average, the charity identified \u00a36,593 of extra annual income per person for those eligible.<\/p>\n

Overall, the Age UK Advice Line helped identify \u00a33,205,092 in potential benefits for older people in that single month.<\/p>\n

The organisation says winter and rising living costs are placing growing pressure on many older households.<\/p>\n

Anyone worried about finances can contact Age UK\u2019s free Advice Line on 0800 169 6565, which is open 365 days a year from 8am to 7pm, or visit the charity\u2019s website for further information.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Millions of pensioners could be missing out on thousands of pounds in extra financial support, with experts warning…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":477152,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[169854,130007,84,4176,169851,169852,5107,6215,4174,4175,2221,169853,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-477151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-personal-finance","tag-600-boost","tag-age-uk","tag-business","tag-finance","tag-financial-support-for-pensioners","tag-older-women-in-poverty","tag-pension","tag-pension-credit","tag-personal-finance","tag-personalfinance","tag-state-pension","tag-state-pensioners-warned-u2018youu2019re-missing-outu2019-on-u00a32","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/477151","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=477151"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/477151\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/477152"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=477151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=477151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=477151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}