Nearly half of homeowners over 65 have never checked to see if they are eligible for state benefits in addition to their state pension, according to research by advisory firm HUB Financial Solutions.
The survey of more than 1,000 over-65s found that 46 per cent of homeowners had never checked if they were entitled to extra benefits, nearly double the 25 per cent of those living in rented homes who had never checked.
Only 12 per cent of homeowners had examined their benefits eligibility in the previous year, compared to more than a third or 35 per cent of renters.
According to research based on real client data collected by equity release advisers at HUB Financial Solutions, over half of homeowners who are entitled to benefits do not claim them, resulting in a loss of £1,197 per year on average. Another two out of ten people, or 21 per cent, were underclaiming the right amount, resulting in £1,220 in lost income.
HUB Financial Solutions managing director Simon Gray says: “With energy and food costs rising, it is important people struggling for income take up their benefits entitlement. State pensioners received a 3.1 per cent rise in April but the Consumer Prices Index rose 7 per cent over the year to the end of March and many – including the Office for Budget Responsibility, the government’s own fiscal watchdog – are expecting further cost increases.
“Benefits are made available to help people in a wide range of circumstances, whether they are struggling for income, having to care for a relative, have an illness or disability, or are entitled to a reduction in Council Tax.
“We have been tracking these figures for 12 years and every time have found a significant proportion of these homeowners are missing out on benefits that could make a real difference to their living standards.
“The government’s own figures show that up to 850,000 households may be missing out on around £1,900 a year each, totalling nearly £1.7 billion in benefits that aren’t being claimed. Our concern is that the system is seen as complicated and inaccessible, particularly to older people.
“However, there are a range of resources and sources of support available to people to help them find out whether they could be entitled to additional benefits and how to claim. We would encourage everyone to make use of this help on offer to see if they are missing out.”
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