Commenting on a response from the Minister for Pensions and Financial Inclusion, Guy Opperman MP, to a parliamentary question today, where he announced a planned review of government communications on Pension Credit, Deborah Alsina MBE, Chief Executive at Independent Age, said:
“While the commitment from the minister to review communications around Pension Credit is a positive step, it is vital that this is just one part of a publicly available action plan to improve take-up.
“Our research has shown that if the number of people receiving Pension Credit increased from 61% to 100%, almost 450,000 pensioners could be lifted out of poverty.
“The Government must work alongside key stakeholders to urgently create an action plan that includes awareness campaigns, a full communications strategy, and new, high quality, up-to-date research into who is not claiming Pension Credit and why, so we can identify and overcome any barriers.
“By working to ensure that everyone who is entitled to Pension Credit does receive it, the Government has the opportunity to improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of older people.”