Pension Credit

(asked on 1st March 2022) - View Source

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of steps taken to raise awareness of Pension Credit on uptake in 2019-20.


Answered by
Guy Opperman Portrait
Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
This question was answered on 7th March 2022

It is encouraging to see that in the financial year ending 2020, take-up of Pension Credit improved across all headline measures. 73% of those eligible, claimed Guarantee Credit, the income top-up element of Pension Credit, up from 70% the year before, moreover 77% of the total amount of Pension Credit that could have been claimed was claimed.

Take-up of Pension Credit can be affected by a broad range of factors.

Our priority is to ensure that pensioners know about the invaluable support which Pension Credit provides. That’s why we are directly targeting over 11 million pensioners with information about Pension Credit in the leaflet accompanying their annual up-rating letter. The leaflet includes prominent messaging which highlights that an award of Pension Credit not only tops up their State Pension but can provide access to help with housing and heating costs, NHS costs and for those over 75, a free TV licence.

Reticulating Splines