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Supporting people to access the funds they are eligible for

Supporting people to access the funds they are eligible for

Summary

The East Lindsey District Council (ELDC) focused on supporting older people on a low income and living in East Lindsey to access two sources of government funds available to them – Pension Credit and the Household Support Fund –  to enable them to live well. 16% of ELDC neighbourhoods are amongst the most ‘deprived’ in England and thus ensuring that older adults are aware and accessing their entitlements is crucial.

“Pension Credit is extra money designed to help with daily living costs for people over state pension age and on a low income. Despite national campaigns, there’s still a lack of awareness and perceived eligibility, with the amount going unclaimed estimated to be £1.7bn nationally.” (Centre For Ageing Better, 2022)

The Household Support Fund, administered by local government, is a more recent measure offering support to those most in need. Eligible households receive payments to help with essentials (food, utilities and clothing).

ELDC worked with County and District Councils to equitably distribute funds. Local experience and partners’ feedback suggested that some pensioners are too proud to apply. Some also face barriers in accessing information via online channels. The decision was made to identify and distribute funds to eligible older residents without the need for the application process. Using the Pension Credit data provided by the DWP, older residents on low income were identified. As a result, ELDC sent out 4,798 Post Office ‘Payout’ vouchers of £110 to redeem for cash. 4,798 vouchers for £110 were sent out and 86% of these were redeemed (£457,160.00)

ELDC promoted the Pension Credit Day of Action (15/06/22) through networks, partnerships, and elected councillors encouraging awareness of the entitlement. Signposting to the free online eligibility calculator or to call the freephone Pension Credit helpline to make a claim assisted ELDC in maximizing the number of older residents who accessed the entitlement.

Key facts

Main target group: Vulnerable older people (e.g. at risk or victims of abuse, living alone, poor etc.)

Other target group(s): Older people not defined as vulnerable but those that are at risk of becoming vulnerable without this intervention.

Sector(s): Health, Housing, Information and communication

Desired outcome for older people:
Meet their basic needs

Other issues the Age-friendly practice aims to address:
  • Inequities
  • Inclusion

Contact details

Name: Jane Berni

Email address: jane.berni@e-lindsey.gov.uk

Age-friendly practice in detail (click to expand):

Engaging the wider community

Project lead: Local authorities

Others involved in the project:
  • Civil Society Organisation
  • Social or health care provider

Older people’s involvement: Older people were not directly involved

Moving forward

Has the impact of this age-friendly practice been analysed: No

Do you plan to evaluate your age-friendly practice? No

Feedback:
Nationally the Day of Action resulted in a significant increase in claims for pension credit (275% on same week in 2021 [UK DWP]). Unclaimed means-tested benefit data is not published at granular level, so we do not have data available to show if the campaign resulted in an increase in claimants locally. However, the general feedback form organisations and individuals in East Lindsey was: • There had been a lack of awareness that residents may still be eligible for Pension Credit even if they had savings • There had been a lack of awareness that it could be applied for over the phone on free phone number not just online • There was surprise at amount that goes unclaimed nationally • They were keen to help break the stigma and encourage residents to find out if they are eligible

Expansion plans:
Promoting the uptake of pension credit is something that we are continuing in partnership with other organisations. There is likely to be another Day of Action in 2023.

Looking back

Reflections:
Older people were not consulted prior to this particular initiative, although historical communication from older people contributed to our understanding that many older people who are eligible for Pension Credit do not apply. Any future initiative would benefit form focused consultation with older people.

Challenges:
One of the biggest challenges was how to measure the impact of the initiative with robust data. We know how many people cashed their Household Support Fund vouchers and can assume this would have had a positive impact on their finances, but have no more detail. We cannot know how many people claimed pension credit as a result of the work done for the Day of Action. However we were able to take feedback from organisations and elected officials who joined us for this work.