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<p>The Government wants to ensure that older people receive the support and help available
to them. It is important to highlight that there are already 1.6 million people claiming
some £5.4 billion in Pension Credit but some people may be missing out.</p><p> </p><p>We
want to make sure that all pensioners eligible can claim the Pension Credit to which
they are rightly entitled. That is why we are currently considering options for raising
awareness of Pension Credit, including working with our stakeholders, to help dispel
some of the misconceptions that people might have about Pension Credit eligibility.
For example, we want to make it clear that having savings, a pension or owning a home
are not automatic barriers to receiving Pension Credit.</p><p> </p><p>Of course DWP
continues to use a wide range of channels including information on <a href="http://www.gov.uk"
target="_blank">www.gov.uk</a>, in leaflets and by telephone to communicate information
about benefits including Pension Credit to potential claimants. We target activity
on engaging with people who may be eligible to benefits at pivotal stages, such as
when they claim State Pension or Attendance Allowance or report a change in their
circumstances which may mean that they could be eligible for Pension Credit. In addition,
the Pension Credit calculator <a href="https://www.gov.uk/pension-credit-calculator"
target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/pension-credit-calculator</a> enables potential
claimants to check if they are likely to be eligible and get an estimate of what they
may receive</p><p>We know that often the best ways to reach eligible pensioners is
through trusted stakeholders working in the community. The Pension Credit toolkit
contains resources for anyone working with pensioners and includes guides to Pension
Credit. It also contains publicity material and guidance designed to help older people
understand how they could get Pension Credit and help organisations support someone
applying for Pension Credit as well as ideas for encouraging take-up. It can be found
at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pension-credit-toolkit" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pension-credit-toolkit</a></p><p><br>Information
on how much has been spent on raising awareness of the availability of pension credit
since June 2019 is not available.</p><p> </p>
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