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MP tells pensioners to claim credit

Bolton North East MP David Crausby is calling on Bolton pensioners to check if they are entitled to more money by claiming pension credit.

Highlighting his concerns about low take-up in a House of Commons Early Day Motion, he said:

“There are up to 1.8 million pensioners who are eligible for pension credit who aren’t getting it. This means that there is £1.3 billion in pension credit going unclaimed.

“The Government has a target of 73 per cent take up but in reality it is somewhere between 59 per cent and 67 per cent.

“There may be a number of reasons why some pensioners do not claim their entitlement, such as being unaware of the rules, a belief that they are ineligible to claim, an unwillingness to disclose personal information and a complicated and off-putting claiming process.

“It is up to the Government to address these issues and I’m urging them to work with pensioner groups and other voluntary bodies to encourage a greater take-up of pension credit so that pensioners receive the money to which they are entitled.”