Morgan Vine, Head of Policy & Influencing at Independent Age reacts to today’s Pension Credit caseload statistics:
“Today’s Pension Credit figures show a small increase in the number of people receiving the benefit. This is unusual, reversing the usual trend, which likely reflects the difficulties people are facing in the cost-of-living crisis and is encouraging to see.
“However, they don’t tell the full story. For new recipients this extra money will have made a big difference but there is still a long way to go to get this vital benefit to everyone who is eligible.
“The Government has still not provided up to date figures showing how many people are missing out on the Pension Credit they should be getting. This number is likely to still be in the hundreds of thousands. Last year the Government published estimates on uptake in February but has said it has no plans to do so this year. The government has a responsibility to monitor and publish the uptake statistics of this essential benefit payment. Without this, both the Government, and organisations like Independent Age will be unable to successfully target those eligible.
“We urge the government to implement a Pension Credit uptake strategy so it can tackle the problem of low uptake in a targeted way, otherwise many older people facing financial hardship will be left behind as the cost of living stays worryingly high.”