Pension credit take-up
Low take-up of Pension Credit among eligible low-income pensioner households, leading to significant financial disadvantage.
177 items
3 sources
Strongest theme matches
Mixed across source types and ranked by classifier confidence plus text match strength.
Committee recommendation
100match
#19 - Pride and reluctance remain key barriers to Pension Credit take-up.
We welcome the Government’s commitment to increase Pension Credit take-up and progress so far, with 60,000 additional awards since July 2024. Long experience and extensive research demonstrate that the main barriers to claiming relate to pride, not wanting to ask for help and a feeling that ‘benefits are not for people like me.’ We agree with the Minister...
Matched on
exact phrase
terms: credit, pension, take
Committee recommendation
100match
#11 - Devise and implement policy addressing unfairness for low-income pensioners missing Pension Credit.
We commend the Government’s efforts to promote Pension Credit to those entitled to it, though there is still more to do to increase take-up as we remarked on in our July 2022 Cost of Living report. We remain concerned that there are low-income pensioner households who may just miss out on Pension Credit and as a result are...
Matched on
terms: credit, pension, take
Committee recommendation
94match
#23 - Include caring questions in Pension Credit and raise awareness for UC claimants about entitlement.
The Government should include questions on caring responsibilities in the Pension Credit application and implement provisions in the Welfare Reform Act 2012 to allow direct access to the carer addition in Pension Credit without a claim for Carer’s Allowance. It should take forward plans to ensure Universal Credit claimants claiming their State Pension are also made aware of...
Matched on
terms: credit, pension, take
Committee recommendation
85match
#1 - Pensioner poverty has risen since 2010, leaving millions below the Minimum Income Standard.
The reductions in pensioner poverty in the late 1990s and 2000s, with the introduction of Pension Credit, were a success. However, we are concerned that from 2010 rates started to rise again. And the latest data on living standards paints a bleak picture, with 2.8 million pensioners living in households below the Minimum Income Standard. No older person...
Matched on
terms: credit, pension
Committee recommendation
84match
#11 - Second Report - The Cost of Living
Pension Credit provides vital support for pensioners, yet some 850,000 eligible households do not claim it. The rising cost of living means this must now be urgently addressed. The Government’s efforts are focused on a communications campaign. The Committee heard, however, that this was unlikely to be enough. We recommend that the Government work with key stakeholders, including...
Matched on
terms: credit, pension, take
Committee recommendation
82match
#19 - Fifth report - Protecting pension savers—five years on from the Pension Freedoms: Accessing pension savings
Advice is a personalised recommendation that can only be provided by a regulated firm at a cost. Few people seem to be willing to pay for financial advice for the decisions they make about their pension savings—even though doing so could significantly improve their financial situation. More people would benefit from regulated advice before accessing their pensions than...
Matched on
terms: pension, take
Committee recommendation
82match
#35 - Passported benefit cliff-edge creates significant hardship for pensioners just above Pension Credit threshold.
The reason the new State Pension was set above the Pension Credit Guarantee was to improve savings incentives. However, over the years more ‘passported benefits’ have become linked to it, meaning that being just a few pounds above Pension Credit level can now mean missing out on thousands of pounds of passported benefits. The decision to link the...
Matched on
terms: credit, pension
Committee recommendation
81match
#24 - Many local authorities lack resources to coordinate effective benefits take-up support.
Effective take-up work requires, firstly, face to face support and encouragement from trusted individuals and organisations on the ground. The complexity of the benefits system means that expert welfare rights advice is often also needed. In some areas, local authorities, third sector and community organisations work together effectively to do this. The 85 rewards are significant—increasing the incomes...
Matched on
terms: pension, take
Committee recommendation
79match
#21 - Fourth Report - The Benefits System in Wales
The DWP and Welsh Government should work together with local authorities to run a take-up campaign on Pension Credit, with messaging designed to both raise awareness but also address any reservations some older people may have about claiming it.
Matched on
terms: credit, pension, take
Committee recommendation
78match
#16 - Fifth report - Protecting pension savers—five years on from the Pension Freedoms: Accessing pension savings
Pension Wise is a well-regarded but under-utilised service. The pension freedoms will be seen as a failure if savers make poor decisions without receiving the guidance they were promised when the freedoms were introduced. The Minister for Pensions and Financial Inclusion’s previous agreement that having a Pension Wise appointment should be “the norm” was welcome, but he has...
Matched on
terms: pension, take
Committee recommendation
78match
#16 - Hard-to-reach households showed low take-up of alternative energy support funding schemes.
Take–up of the energy bills support schemes was lower among harder–to–reach households that did not receive a payment directly from their energy supplier; 41 and may have been affected disproportionately by energy price fluctuations.42 These households did not receive an automatic payment because, for example, they did not have a domestic electricity contract with a supplier, such as...
Matched on
terms: take
Committee recommendation
78match
#12 - Winter Fuel Payment changes created significant uncertainty and anxiety among older pensioners
Our predecessor Committee is amongst those that have criticised Winter Fuel Payments for being poorly targeted and a ‘blunt instrument’ for tackling fuel poverty. As a universal payment, WFP went to pensioners who did not need it, and its real terms value has dwindled over two decades since it was introduced. However, we heard very clearly that pensioners...
Matched on
terms: pension
Committee recommendation
77match
#14 - Fifth report: Protecting pension savers—five years on from the pension freedoms: Pension scams
The Pension Schemes Act 2021 will allow people’s statutory right to transfer from their pension scheme to be restricted where there are signs of a pension scam. Regulations will be developed by DWP and are expected to be in place later this year. This will be a significant step in preventing pension transfer scams. Pension scheme trustees will...
Matched on
terms: pension, take
Committee recommendation
77match
#33 - Fifth report: Protecting pension savers—five years on from the pension freedoms: Pension scams
HMRC has been described as “unrelenting and uncompromising” in the pursuit of unauthorised payment charges. While the position taken by HMRC is legally correct, it has often lacked empathy or understanding of impact that its demands have on victims. We recommend that HMRC should make greater use of its current discretion to support pension scam victims left owing...
Matched on
terms: pension, take
Committee recommendation
76match
#11 - 2024/25 Winter Fuel Payment eligibility poorly targeted, while 2025/26 reforms are welcomed
For winter 2024/25, the Government linked eligibility for the Winter Fuel Payment to receipt of Pension Credit. This removed the payment from many who needed it and set the bar for continued payment too low. Up to 760,000 pensioner households do not claim Pension Credit that they are entitled to, and many just above the Pension Credit threshold,...
Matched on
terms: credit, pension
Committee recommendation
76match
#24 - Fifth Report - Health assessments for benefits
We are reassured to hear that the process for claiming Attendance Allowance seems to broadly be working well. However, we were concerned about the challenges around take-up, which reflect those around Pension Credit. We recommend DWP develop targeted interventions to improve awareness of Attendance Allowance, working closely with organisations that could reach people who may be eligible. The...
Matched on
terms: credit, pension, take
Committee recommendation
73match
#20 - Fourth Report - The Benefits System in Wales
We received evidence regarding a lack of awareness among the wider public of key benefits, most notably Pension Credit. The UK Government should address this directly through a UK-wide income maximisation campaign and design its messaging so that it not only raises awareness of the benefit but also addresses any reservations some older people may have about claiming...
Matched on
terms: credit, pension
Committee recommendation
70match
#21 - Fifth report - Protecting pension savers—five years on from the Pension Freedoms: Accessing pension savings
The line between advice and guidance is a continuing issue of debate. There is demand for both enhanced guidance and limited advice, but there is reluctance from the industry to operate too close to the advice/guidance boundary and resistance to such services being offered by the Money and Pensions Service, both because of the likely additional cost and...
Matched on
terms: pension
Committee recommendation
69match
#28 - Government recognises need for improved data sharing to increase means-tested benefits take-up.
We welcome the Government’s recognition of the importance of better data sharing arrangements to increase take-up of means-tested benefits, and the work it is doing to address the issues. (Conclusion, Paragraph 141)
Matched on
terms: pension, take
Committee recommendation
69match
#27 - Encourage using Crisis and Resilience fund for benefits take-up and assess advice sector capacity needs.
When the guidance is produced, it should encourage the use of the Crisis and Resilience fund for benefit take-up work. The Government should assess what more is needed to increase the advice sector capacity needed to support this work. (Recommendation, Paragraph 136)
Matched on
terms: pension, take
Committee recommendation
69match
#25 - Develop a national strategy for benefits take-up in England and monitor local authority performance.
DWP should develop a strategy for benefits take-up in England by the end of 2025. It should work with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to develop a framework for monitoring local authority work on take up and holding them to account for the results. We have heard about the research conducted on the economic gains...
Matched on
terms: pension, take
Committee recommendation
69match
#9 - Fifth report: Protecting pension savers—five years on from the pension freedoms: Pension scams
We heard repeatedly about a worrying trend of secondary scammers—scammers targeting people who have already been the victim of a pension scam. People who have not reported their case to an appropriate body—or who have done so but not received appropriate warnings—may be unaware of the risk that secondary scammers pose. It can take many years before a...
Matched on
terms: pension, take
Committee recommendation
66match
#20 - Fifth report - Protecting pension savers—five years on from the Pension Freedoms: Accessing pension savings
The Pension Advice Allowance allows £500 to be withdrawn from a pension up to three times in different tax years for advice. Either because of a lack of awareness or lack of demand the policy is not working. Its design has made it unusable by most savers. We believe that the broad aim of the policy is correct,...
Matched on
terms: pension
Committee recommendation
66match
#17 - Fifth report - Protecting pension savers—five years on from the Pension Freedoms: Accessing pension savings
The “stronger nudges” towards guidance being proposed by the Department for Work and Pensions and the Financial Conduct Authority will not be enough to make receiving pensions guidance the norm. The Money and Pensions Service told us that it would support a trial of automatic Pension Wise appointments and we can see no clear barrier to doing this....
Matched on
terms: pension
Committee recommendation
66match
#9 - Third Report - Protecting pension savers – five years on from the pension freedoms: Saving for...
The number of self-employed people saving in a pension has declined since the late1990s when it was around 48%, to around 16%. This is in stark contrast to the 88% of workers eligible for auto-enrolment participating in pension saving. Trials to encourage self-employed people into pension saving have not been effective. The former Minister for Pensions told us...
Matched on
terms: pension
Committee recommendation
65match
#7 - Fifth report: Protecting pension savers—five years on from the pension freedoms: Pension scams
Many victims of pension scams never report that they have been scammed. Others report a long time after it has taken place. Scam victims reasonably expect that, when they make a report to Action Fraud, it will be acted upon. They are understandably left disillusioned when this does not happen. A 2019 investigation by the Times found serious...
Matched on
terms: pension, take
Committee recommendation
65match
#4 - Fifth report: Protecting pension savers—five years on from the pension freedoms: Pension scams
The real scale of pension scamming is undoubtedly much larger than the £30 million reported to Action Fraud, the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime, between 2017 and August 2020. We have even heard examples of individual cases with losses potentially larger than the total amount reported to Action Fraud in those three and a half...
Matched on
terms: pension, take
Committee recommendation
65match
#1 - Third Report - Protecting pension savers – five years on from the pension freedoms: Saving for...
The Government has not acted on our recommendation to set a target of at least 60% for the combined use of Pension Wise and paid for advice when accessing pension pots for the first time. It also rejected our recommendation for a trial of automatic Pension Wise appointments, saying it would consider whether further interventions were needed, based...
Matched on
terms: pension, take
PHSO casework decision
64match
P-002191 - Department for Work and Pensions
Mr X complains DWP did not manage its investigation into a third party using his details to try and make a claim for Pension Credit (a ‘top up’ of income available for people over State Pension age and on a low income). Mr X also says it did not provide enough information about how it will stop a...
Matched on
terms: credit, pension
Committee recommendation
61match
#36 - Fifth report: Protecting pension savers—five years on from the pension freedoms: Pension scams
Members of schemes where professional trustees are appointed can face long waits to receive any recovered assets, even if a significant proportion of the assets are recovered. Often because of the costs associated with providing communications to members, which are met directly from the recovered assets, scam victims perceive communication from professional trustees as poor. We acknowledge that...
Matched on
terms: pension
PHSO casework decision
60match
P-002290 - Department for Work and Pensions
Mr A complains the DWP ended his Pension Credit claim in 2018 because he had a lodger living with him.
Matched on
terms: credit, pension
Committee recommendation
60match
#3 - Develop strategies for next winter to support consumers at greater risk of fuel poverty.
The Department has not done enough to address the challenges of providing financial support to vulnerable consumers in the event of another crisis. The Department reported that between mid–2022 and mid–2023 the Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) and Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) prevented around 289,000 households in England from going into fuel poverty. However, this was not enough...
Matched on
terms: take
Committee recommendation
59match
#4 - Require government to ensure and promote social tariffs for older people, strengthening regulation.
Social broadband and mobile phone tariffs can allow eligible low-income households to make significant savings on their bills, yet few eligible older people are aware of them. The Government should work with groups representing older people and broadband and mobile phone network providers to ensure the provision and promotion of social broadband and mobile phone network tariffs for...
Matched on
classifier match
Committee recommendation
57match
#28 - Fifth report - Protecting pension savers—five years on from the Pension Freedoms: Accessing pension savings
Pensions dashboards will change how people engage with their pension savings. Dashboards will also provide an important additional tool which can be used by those providing guidance or advice to savers. We recommend that the Money and Pensions Service should develop a guidance service—possibly a future iteration of Pension Wise or the midlife MOT—which supports savers by using...
Matched on
terms: pension
Committee recommendation
57match
#25 - Fifth report: Protecting pension savers—five years on from the pension freedoms: Pension scams
There are many bodies with potentially overlapping enforcement responsibilities relating to pension scams. These include, but are not necessarily limited to: the Pensions Regulator, the FCA, the Insolvency Service, HMRC, Information Commissioner’s Office, the police service, the Serious Fraud Office, the Pensions Ombudsman and the Financial Ombudsman Service. The fragmentation of reporting, investigation and enforcement around pension scams...
Matched on
terms: pension
Committee recommendation
57match
#22 - Fifth report: Protecting pension savers—five years on from the pension freedoms: Pension scams
When the pension freedoms were introduced, a guidance guarantee was presented as a key pillar of the reforms supporting people making use of the new range of choices available to them. Everyone with a defined contribution pension is entitled to free impartial guidance from Pension Wise when they come to access their pension. The Minister for Pensions and...
Matched on
terms: pension
Committee recommendation
57match
#15 - Fifth report: Protecting pension savers—five years on from the pension freedoms: Pension scams
The regulations will identify potential indicators of a pension scam which would raise either red or amber flags. A red flag would allow a transfer to be blocked and an amber flag would allow a transfer to be paused until a person has received appropriate guidance. The red and amber flags being drawn up by the Department will...
Matched on
terms: pension
Committee recommendation
57match
#11 - Fifth report: Protecting pension savers—five years on from the pension freedoms: Pension scams
The pensions industry does not universally share information about possible scams amongst providers and schemes. Information can be, and is, shared voluntarily, including through the Pension Scams Industry Group and the forum it supports— the Pension Scams Industry Forum. WWee rreeccoommmmeenndd tthhaatt PPrroojjeecctt BBlloooomm sshhoouulldd ffaacciilliittaattee iinndduussttrryy iinntteelllliiggeennccee sshhaarriinngg aanndd tthhaatt tthhee GGoovveerrnnmmeenntt sshhoouulldd lleeggiissllaattee ttoo rreeqquuiirree iinndduussttrryy...
Matched on
terms: pension
Committee recommendation
57match
#2 - Fifth report: Protecting pension savers—five years on from the pension freedoms: Pension scams
The pension freedoms gave people more choice in how they use their money to meet their own needs. However, by offering pension savers access to a much wider range of investments, the freedoms also removed much of the distinction between pension scams and other types of investment and financial fraud. More than five years on from the introduction...
Matched on
terms: pension
Committee recommendation
56match
#17 - Communication failures hampered support scheme reach to vulnerable households in need
Although the Department worked with local authorities on some of the schemes aimed at households who were harder to reach,44 the low take–up suggests that this approach did not identify all those in need.45 The Department said that it attempted to use intermediaries such as social landlords, providing funds directly to landlords with a requirement to pass them...
Matched on
terms: take
Committee recommendation
53match
#20 - Existing DWP trust issues impact older people's willingness to claim benefits.
The Minister referred to the reputation of the Department and the reluctance of people to engage with it. We know that trust issues exist between working age people and the Department, and these will endure as they reach pension age. Given this, we disagree with the Minister that there is not an impact in terms of trust that...
Matched on
terms: pension
Committee recommendation
53match
#30 - Fifth report: Protecting pension savers—five years on from the pension freedoms: Pension scams
Project Bloom is a multi-agency task force set up to tackle pension fraud in 2012. It is not a statutory body and receives no dedicated funding. The members of Project Bloom have argued convincingly to us that it has the potential to be an effective body but is restricted by limited resources. The Pensions Regulator and other organisations...
Matched on
terms: pension
Committee recommendation
53match
#28 - Fifth report: Protecting pension savers—five years on from the pension freedoms: Pension scams
Regulators exist to protect savers and not enable scammers. Where a regulator has failed in this fundamental duty they should be held accountable. We recommend that the Government review the recourse available to pension scam victims when the actions of a regulator have been beneficial to the scammer.
Matched on
terms: pension
Committee recommendation
53match
#8 - Fifth report: Protecting pension savers—five years on from the pension freedoms: Pension scams
The aftermath of a pension scam can leave a victim needing to deal with several different bodies without much guidance or support. For many victims Action Fraud is the first point of contact and for those for whom it is not, it should be. We recommend that Action Fraud should have a coordinating role for pension scam victims....
Matched on
terms: pension
Committee recommendation
53match
#6 - Fifth report: Protecting pension savers—five years on from the pension freedoms: Pension scams
At present there is no universal definition of pension scams and the range of potential activity which could be classed as a scam runs from sharp practice all the way to outright fraud. Project Bloom, the multi-agency taskforce set up to tackle pension scams, uses a broad definition of pension scams which has been developed by the Pension...
Matched on
terms: pension
Committee recommendation
53match
#5 - Fifth report: Protecting pension savers—five years on from the pension freedoms: Pension scams
We recommend that Project Bloom, the multi-agency taskforce set up to tackle pension scams, should develop a range of measures to enable a better understanding of the scale of pension scamming, rather than relying solely on the current Action Fraud data. The lack of a definitive measure of the scale of pension scams makes it difficult for both...
Matched on
terms: pension
Committee recommendation
53match
#1 - Fifth report - Protecting pension savers—five years on from the Pension Freedoms: Accessing pension savings
The pension freedoms gave people the freedom to choose what to do with their money. On balance these changes have been a success and we do not want to see them rolled back. However, many savers need more support than they currently receive in order to make good decisions about how they access their pension savings.
Matched on
terms: pension
Committee recommendation
52match
#19 - Domestic energy debt has significantly increased, becoming the fastest growing type of consumer debt
Alongside a rise in energy prices, Ofgem statistics from June 2024 show the total owed by domestic consumers for both electricity and gas was over £3.7 billion compared with £1.8 billion at the end of 2021.51 A report by Clear Consultancy Services suggested that millions of people are living in cold conditions and cutting back on essential costs...
Matched on
terms: credit
Committee recommendation
48match
#21 - Allocate resources for efficient claims, provide expert advice, and promote benefits proactively.
The Department should put in place the resources needed to process claims in an efficient and timely manner and helpline advisers able to give the advice needed to navigate the system in more complex cases. The Government communications on social security benefits should emphasise that DWP is there to support people and encourages them to claim the benefits...
Matched on
terms: pension
PHSO casework decision
48match
P-003887 - Department for Work and Pensions
Mr A and Dr A complain that DWP has not done enough to support them with applying for Carer’s Allowance, Attendance Allowance and Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI).
Matched on
terms: pension