A new Department for Work and Pensions campaign is seeking to close a persistent gap: pensioners who may qualify for Pension Credit but assume they do not.

The department is sending 660,000 leaflets to households in Glasgow, Powys, Stockton-on-Tees, inland Cornwall, Birmingham, East Suffolk and Manchester—areas identified as having relatively high numbers of low-income pensioners. The campaign is designed to challenge assumptions that home ownership, savings or receipt of the State Pension automatically prevent a claim.¹

Ministers present the benefit as both an income top-up and a route to further assistance. Pensions Minister Torsten Bell said Pension Credit is “worth more than £4,500 a year on average” and can also unlock help with bills and everyday costs.² The DWP says 1.4 million pensioner households already receive it, and that a previous awareness drive brought 33,500 additional applications.¹

Independent Age broadly supports the push but puts the emphasis on the size of the remaining shortfall. Its policy director, Morgan Vine, said the charity’s analysis found that more than one million eligible older people did not receive Pension Credit in 2023-24, missing out on a combined £2.5 billion. She said the organisation regularly hears from people facing hardship because they do not know they qualify.²

A finance expert offers a more individualised caution: eligibility is not guaranteed and depends on income, pensions, savings and other circumstances. Joe Lytwyn said, “Owning your home or having savings does not automatically rule you out,” though savings above £10,000 are considered in an assessment.³

That distinction is central to the campaign’s message. Pensioners can use the official calculator or seek help from family, Citizens Advice or Independent Age; claims may be backdated by up to three months for those who were eligible.³