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<p>It is a long-established policy of all governments, that provision of income-related
benefits is contingent on a person making a valid claim. Like other means-tested benefits,
Pension Credit eligibility and award amounts are determined by a person’s financial
and personal circumstances and it is the responsibility of the person making a claim
to provide the correct and accurate information required to establish entitlement.</p><p
/><p>Pension Credit is intended to target help at the poorest pensioner households.
It would not therefore be practical to automatically register everyone of State Pension
age for Pension Credit when the majority of them will simply not qualify. There may
also be pensioners, who might qualify for Pension Credit, who do not wish to claim
it.</p><p> </p><p>In 2010 the Department ran an innovative pilot scheme to try to
boost take-up of Pension Credit. The trial involved automatically paying Pension Credit
to some 2,000 people who the Department had identified as possibly having entitlement
to Pension Credit without them having to make an actual claim first. At the end of
the trial the group were invited to go on and make a claim. The level of take-up was
surprisingly low and disappointing, with less than 9% of those involved going on to
take up their entitlement. It was therefore not considered a viable and cost effective
mechanism to take forward. A copy of the evaluation of the pilot is available at <a
href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/214583/rrep796.pdf"
target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/214583/rrep796.pdf</a>.</p>
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