Attendance Allowance: State pensioners missing out on thousands in DWP benefit | Personal Finance | Finance
Nearly three and a half million (3.4) pensioners could be claiming Attendance Allowance from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) worth up to £3,515 a year. So why are so many missing out?
Unclaimed benefits is a huge problem in the UK with millions of Britons not claiming the financial support they are entitled to.
Official figures show that £15billion is lost in unclaimed benefits every year – money that could help people on low incomes now more than ever.
Pensioners are the group who are most likely to be missing out on vital Government help according to Age UK.
More than three million of people who have reached state pension age are missing out on Attendance Allowance which is available to pensioners who are physically or mentally disabled.
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While Attendance Allowance could add up to £292 a month to the household budget, millions of people are also missing out on Personal Independence Payments (PIP) and Carer’s Allowance.
Campaigners like poverty charity Turn2Us are concerned that not everyone knows about these DWP benefits.
Many people with long term health conditions do not realise that they could be entitled to £7,296 a year in PIP payments.
Almost half a million (400,000) aren’t claiming Carer’s Allowance which is also worth £292 a month.
In response a DWP spokesperson said: “We want to ensure disabled pensioners with care needs receive all the support to which they are entitled and in 2020/21, 88.9 percent of claims for Attendance Allowance were approved.
“We continue to encourage anyone who thinks they may be eligible for extra financial help to check online and use the free, independent benefits calculators available.”
People can ask Age UK and Citizens Advice for help with the benefits process.
To check eligibility for all DWP benefits, Britons can go to Gov.uk where there is a handy benefits calculator.
