Missing Out: Making sure older people get the support they’re entitled to

In the first of our pre-election blogs, Campaigns Officer Chris McFarlane talks about how many older people are left without the support they’re currently entitled to, and what decision-makers should do to change this.

Ahead of the UK General Election, Independent Age’s Two Million Too Many campaign is calling on the next UK Government to take action against pensioner poverty.

With around two million older people across the UK living in poverty — struggling to afford sky-high household costs and living in damp, insecure housing — it has never been more important to ensure that older people living in financial hardship are receiving all the help they are entitled to.

We have found that there is a similar situation with social tariffs for utility bills. When it comes to water bills, for instance, our household costs study found that 67% of older people who responded were unaware that their water company offered any form of support at all.

At Independent Age, through our helpline and advice services, we work hard to make sure that older people who are eligible for support receive it. Financial entitlements such as Pension Credit, Attendance Allowance, or Council Tax Reduction can be the vital difference between someone being able to heat their home in the winter or being able to afford to eat hot meals, or not. Yvonne, 78 shared with us:

“Pension Credit has been amazing. I can have the heating on, and I can go out for coffee and socialise with friends again. It’s made a huge difference to my wellbeing.”

Full-take up of social security entitlements, such as Pension Credit or utility bill social tariffs, would clearly transform the lives of older people in financial hardship, but its impact would be even more wide-ranging than this.

In 2020, Independent Age commissioned research which found that in a year where £2.1 billion of Pension Credit wasn’t received by people eligible for it, the cost to the state was around £4 billion as a result of increased NHS and social care spending.

The impact of not getting the appropriate support is significant, which is why we are calling on every political party ahead of the UK General Election to commit to policies which would ensure that older people in poverty get the support they are entitled to.

We believe that whoever forms the next UK government must introduce a significant and strategic focus on improving uptake of all social security entitlements for older people, including Pension Credit, Housing Benefit, Attendance Allowance and Council Tax Reduction.

We are also calling for the next UK government, working in tandem with local government and utility providers, to more proactively promote social tariffs and other support to all eligible groups. Together, we can make sure that older people receive the support they are eligible for so they can have security, dignity, and good health.

Independent Age has been campaigning on these issues so that the next UK Government takes concrete action to support older people in financial hardship.

To make this change happen, we need your help. Sign up to our campaigns network to find out how you can contribute to and shape our efforts to ensure that the next UK Government puts supporting older people in poverty at the heart of its agenda.