What rot! If many more of the people eligible and not claiming pension credit are doing so as a result, there is a lesson here. Well done @RachelReevesMP – the money is going to those who need it! pic.twitter.com/qqOPTs1Fs1
— Henry Tapper (@henryhtapper) January 6, 2025
If the way to increase take up of the much needed and valued Pension Credit is to withdraw unnecessary subsidy of winter fuel from the well off, I think we should feel glad.
The reality of limited resources (which every country suffers from) is that money goes to the wrong people. I suspect that people who buy subscriptions of copies of this paper need to think this through.
We provide proper benefits under pension credit and some 700,000 (down from 850,000 when we wrote this paper) don’t claim when they should.
I am grateful for Guy Opperman and his team for the reduction of people not claiming. Thee are many charities and voluntary organisations (Pension PlayPen) keen to help out,
Now at last it seems that the Treasury are doing their bit. On a cold and dark Monday morning ,now is the time to warm the cockles of the heart!
While the numbers not claiming do indeed seem to be falling (at last), the data used in headlines is still rather confusing.
Policy in Practice still say “Over 850,000 eligible pensioners”
while the Government’s own headline number refers to “families” rather than “eligible pensioners”.
The Government number in 2022 was up to 870,000 families, and a year later it was lower at up to 760,000.
I’m slightly surprised the assumed ratio of pensioners to families seems to be as low as 1.12:1.