The UK government plans to mail 660,000 Pension Credit leaflets across seven areas, seeking to reach older people who may qualify for support that many eligible families do not claim.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) announced the plan Oct. 13. The leaflets will go to Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow, as well as Powys, inland Cornwall, East Suffolk and Stockton-on-Tees. They will explain how to apply and how relatives can assist with a claim.
The latest available DWP estimates cover the financial year ending 2024. They show that 62% of eligible families claimed Pension Credit, compared with 65% the year before. The department said the difference was not statistically significant.
Up to 910,000 eligible families did not claim in 2023/24, the DWP estimated. The amount left unclaimed could have reached £2.5 billion, or roughly £2,600 per nonclaiming eligible family for that year. Those estimates do not establish why individual families did not apply.
Pension Credit is a benefit based on income for people who have reached State Pension age. The DWP says a person can own a home or have savings and still qualify. It disregards the first £10,000 in savings when assessing a claim. For savings above that threshold, it adds £1 to assumed weekly income for every £500 increment, including a partial increment.
The department says recipients get more than £4,500 a year on average. The standard minimum income guarantee from April 2026 is £238 a week for a single person and £363.25 for a couple; the amount paid depends on a claimant’s circumstances. A Pension Credit award can also provide access to help with rent, council tax and heating costs.
The DWP says mistaken beliefs about eligibility can discourage claims. It has cited its 2025 awareness campaign and reported nearly 33,500 more awards that year than in 2024, without establishing that the campaign alone produced the increase.
The DWP’s Pension Credit Week of Action ran Oct. 12-16.
