Age Concern has launched its 'Your rights' campaign, calling on people across the UK to urge their older friends and family to claim the benefits and tax credits they are entitled to.

The organisation is concerned that some of the poorest and most excluded older people are missing out on benefits that are rightfully their's because they don't know that they are entitled, are worried about the complexity of the process or are embarrassed about claiming.

Age Concern

To send a comment to Age Concern click here

Gordon Lishman, director general of Age Concern, said: "Millions of older people across the UK are missing out on money that’s rightfully theirs and could make a huge difference to their quality of life.

"That’s why we're launching our new year-long 'Your rights' campaign and are determined to get an extra £100m into the pockets of those who need it most by April 2008.

"There's nothing to lose and everything to gain by making a claim. Claiming council tax benefit alone could cut bills by an average of £580 a year and claiming housing benefit could mean paying less or no rent at all.

"We would urge older people to get in touch with their local Age Concern for a free benefits check or to phone our free helpline on 0800 00 99 66 for more information."

Conservative comment: Shadow work and pensions secretary Phillip Hammond

Philip Hammond said: "We strongly support this initiative from Age Concern but the government must take responsibility for leaving so many pensioners in this desperate position.

"The plain fact is that Gordon Brown's complex and intrusive pensioner means testing is failing the most vulnerable.

"Many of the poorest pensioners are unsure of what they should be claiming and, as a result, don’t receive the help they are due. This is unacceptable."

Labour Comment: Dave Anderson MP

I am very pleased to see the launch of this initiative.

I realise that there is some opposition to the present system of support for older people, but as long as it remains we should ensure that all who are entitled to any benefit or money access it as easily and speedily as possible.

Government Response: DWP

A DWP spokesman said: " Because the government made tackling pensioner poverty its first priority, initiatives such as Pension Credit have helped to lift more than two million pensioners out of absolute poverty, and a million out of relative poverty.

"Today, no pensioner should be living on less than £119 per week - compared to £69 per week ten years ago.

"We welcome Age Concern's campaign and hope it will complement the work we are doing with Local Authorities to alert people to their entitlement and make the claim process as simple as possible.

"Pensioners can now claim four benefits in one phone call and we have introduced shorter, simpler claim forms.

"Last year we contacted 278,500 pensioners who we believed may have been entitled and, as a direct result, we are now paying an additional £650,000 a week in council tax benefit to pensioners compared to the same time last year."

Stakeholder Response: Help the Aged

To send a comment to Help the Aged click here

Anna Pearson, senior policy officer at Help the Aged, said: "Help the Aged welcomes the apparent change of heart on the part of the government which says it puts pensioner poverty as its first priority.

"We hope this means that finally we might get official commitment and targets to reducing and eliminating pensioner poverty. 
 
"However, the truth is the current record does not reflect these warm words. 

"Instead, levels of pensioner poverty are stagnating with 2.2 million pensioners still languishing below the poverty line. 
 
"Women pensioners have received precious little to help them with broken pension contribution records, which will consign many of today's them to a retirement blighted by hardship on means tested benefits - in fact most see no benefit from the private savings they made. 

"Meanwhile, the recent Lyons review - which gave a clear backing for automatic payment of council tax benefits and which would help so many pensioners - seems to have been put firmly on the shelf in the cellar of the Treasury.
 
"Whoever takes the helm at Number 10 Downing Street in a few months time must make a better job of ending the national scandal of pensioner poverty.

"Instead of waiting until 2012 to bring back a basic state pension of real value, now is the right time to update it properly to guarantee a decent standard of living for all older people."