£5bn pensioner benefits 'unclaimed'

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Help the Aged said £14 million of money that would help elderly people was being left unclaimed every day, despite the fact that one in five pensioners lives in poverty and is struggling to meet the rising cost of living.

The charity is calling on the Government to automatically pay benefits to those who are entitled to them, rather than forcing people to go through the "convoluted claims process".

It said 80% of older people thought the Government should pay their benefits to them without them having to submit a claim.

Each year up to £1.51 billion in council tax benefit and £770 million in housing benefit goes unclaimed, with people also missing out on £2.81 billion of Pension Credit.

It is estimated that 2.14 million people, or 45% of those eligible, are failing to claim council tax benefit, with 1.82 million not claiming Pension Credit - 41% of those entitled.

A further 350,000 older people are also not claiming housing benefit.

Louise Ward-Bergeman, policy officer for Help the Aged, said: "The Government has most of the information it needs to identify people who are entitled to benefits and arrange automatic payment - what's needed is the political will to make it happen.

"Difficult economic times mean it is even more important for pensioners to get every penny that is rightfully theirs.

"The Government has a moral duty to ensure older people receive their benefits but until automatic payments are introduced, older people also need to take action. We would urge all older people to find out if they are entitled to benefits that could help."