It was only when Frank had reached his wits’ end that he called our Helpline. For Frank, calling our Helpline was life-changing. First, we reassured him he had come to the right place and encouraged him to tell us a bit about his circumstances. We quickly discovered he would qualify for Pension Credit as well as Attendance Allowance for Valerie, who now needs constant care at home.

You could hear the relief washing over him as he realised that the benefits he was entitled to were worth not a few extra pennies but potentially thousands of pounds each year – and that there was a way ahead for him and Valerie, not just the steady unravelling of everything they had worked so hard to create.