Nearly half of Britons over the age of 65 who own a home have never checked if they are entitled to state benefits. Many will simply claim the state pension, often built up after years of hard work.

However, other support is available to pensioners – they will just need to check to see if they can claim.

The revelation came following research undertaken by HUB Financial Solutions, which showed a problem for many pensioners.

The study showed nearly half of homeowners eligible for benefits were failing to claim anything at all.

As a result, these individuals were missing out on £1,197 on average per year.

A further two in 10 were under claiming the correct amount, meaning they have missed out on £1,220 in extra income.

Many individuals could be entitled to benefits designed to help older people such as Attendance Allowance and Pension Credit.

Others could get assistance with household costs, such as via a council tax reduction.

Simon Gray, Managing Director of HUB Financial Solutions, said: “With energy and food costs rising, it is important people struggling for income take up their benefits entitlement.

“State pensioners received a 3.1 percent rise in April but the Consumer Prices Index rose seven percent over the year to the end of March.

“Many – including the Office for Budget Responsibility, the Government’s own fiscal watchdog – are expecting further cost increases.

“Benefits are made available to help people in a wide range of circumstances, whether they are struggling for income, having to care for a relative, have an illness or disability, or are entitled to a reduction in council tax.”

Mr Gray explained these figures have been tracked for 12 years, with fluctuations noted in awareness.

However, every time, the organisation has found a significant proportion of people could be missing out.

He continued: “The Government’s own figures show that up to 850,000 households may be missing out on around £1,900 a year each.

“This totals nearly £1.7billion in benefits that aren’t being claimed. Our concern is that the system is seen as complicated and inaccessible, particularly to older people.

“However, there are a range of resources and sources of support available to people to help them find out whether they could be entitled to additional benefits and how to claim.

“We would encourage everyone to make use of this help on offer to see if they are missing out.”

The Government has provided numerous tools to help Britons check their eligibility for benefits.

It directs individuals towards benefit calculators such Turn2us, Policy in Practice and entitledto, which are free to use and anonymous.

The calculators outline what benefits a person could get, how to claim, and how benefits could be affected by work.

Professional advisers could also help Britons with their decision making in a regulated way – but there will be a charge for this.

Alternatively, the Government service MoneyHelper could offer guidance, or organisations such as Citizens Advice and Age UK.

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State pensioner homeowners missing out on £1,220 extra income – act now | Personal Finance | Finance

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