40,000 pensioners miss out on credit in Black Country and Staffordshire

The shocking figures have been revealed by the charity Independent Age, which has called for action over the low take up of the benefit across the country.

Pension credit is an income related benefit paid in addition to pensions, which is designed to lift elderly people out of poverty.

By 2020 anyone aged over 75 will need to claim it if they want to get a free television licence, under new rules by the BBC.

Figures from the Department for Work and Pensions show that in the Black Country 32,666 people are entitled to pension credit but don't claim it, missing out on benefits worth an estimated £82m.

In Staffordshire 8,620 pensioners are not claiming £18.8m in benefits.

According to the charity almost two million older people aged 65 and over are living in poverty in the UK, and annually more than 1.3m pensioners are missing out on £3.5 billion in pension credit.

Safety net

Dudley North MP Ian Austin is supporting a campaign calling on the Government to ensure that everyone who is entitled to pension credit gets it.

He said: “Older people have worked hard all their lives, paid in to the system and it’s terrible to hear that so many pensioners in Dudley and across the Black Country are not getting the pension credit they’re entitled to.

“I know some people don’t want to claim, but this is their money and they are entitled to it, so I’m calling on the Government to ensure older people across the region get the pension credit they deserve.”

Independent Age describes pension credit as "an important safety net" for elderly people in poverty, and says it is a "scandal" that it is failing.

It has called on Ministers to commit to a target of at least 75 per cent of eligible people receiving the benefit by the end of 2020, at least 85 per cent by the end of 2022 and 100 per cent by 2025.

To reach these targets, the Government must put in place an ambitious action plan stating improvements that must be made to pension credit, the charity said.

Unclaimed pension credit was raised in Parliament this week by Birmingham MP Jack Dromey, who asked what measures were being put in place address the issue.

Pensions Minister Guy Opperman said that applications for the benefit were "up significantly", but said he was frustrated that they were not higher.

"We urge all pensioners to apply for pension credit through the usual manner, whether through trusted third parties, jobcentres, local authorities or the like," he added.