In the last 12 months, the council has already focused on increasing the uptake of any benefits residents might be entitled to, but which they are missing out on, in particular pension credit.

This is now even more relevant with the government having identified that as many as 880,000 pensioner households are missing out on pension credit with the average underclaim understood to be worth £3,600 per year.

Leader of the council, Councillor Stephen Simkins said the council was doing all it could to assist eligible residents to apply.

He said: ‘We’re ahead of the game on this and have already been working on helping people apply for any benefits they might be missing out on since August last year.

‘We will do all we can to help people, as we have throughout the cost of living crisis, and we will not leave anyone behind.

‘We identified 900 pensioners who are eligible, but not claiming pension credit at the start of this project and to date 770 completed forms have been received, representing 754 households.

‘I’m happy to say the success rate of claims for those identified as eligible following an assessment is 90 per cent and 324 households are now in receipt of pension credit and other associated benefits including Attendance Allowance and Housing Benefit because of our campaign.

‘The average increase in income per household is £175 per week, with the total benefit gain to those 324 households being £44,321 with lump sum back payments totalling £139,439 and an annual benefit gain of £1.5 million.

‘So, it’s well worth checking if you’re eligible and applying and we are here to help with a dedicated team. So don’t delay contact us today.’

The council has made accessing support as easy as possible, by providing a range of options for people who are missing out on this benefit to get in touch through a range of channels. Our website has been updated and there is a dedicated message on the customer service helpline to direct queries specifically about pension credit.

Members of the public can make contact by phone, email or in person at customer access points.

Funded by the government’s Household Support Fund, the council has two officers within the Welfare Rights Service dedicated to raising awareness of unclaimed benefits and supporting people to make relevant benefit claims.

And following the announcement about the withdrawal of Winter Fuel Payments, the council is increasing capacity by employing an additional full-time officer to scale up the activity around missing benefits.

So here are the key details people need to know about eligibility and applying:

• If you are over State Pension Age and have a low income you could be eligible for pension credit and receive the winter fuel payment, even if you own your home or have savings.
• You need to apply without delay, request a backdate of any potential award when you apply (as it will not be done automatically) and demonstrate you were entitled to it during the period of the qualifying week, which was last week 16 -22 September 2024. 
• The maximum amount of time a backdate can be applied is three months, so applicants must have claimed pension credit on any day up to and including 21 December 2024.
• The average pension credit payment is more than £75 per week – that’s over an extra £3,900 per year. Plus, getting pension credit can provide a passport to help with things like rent, council tax, cold weather payments and a free TV licence for people aged 75 and over.
• People can have savings or another pension and still get extra money.

As it stands, it is most likely that to be eligible for this year’s winter fuel payment you must be entitled to pension credit, and you must have made your claim for pension credit by December 21, 2024.

To make a claim or to find out how much Pension Credit you might receive you can call the Pension Service on 0800 99 1234.

To apply online or to request a paper form please visit: www.gov.uk/pensioncredit

If you need help making a claim you, want to talk to someone about your potential Pension Credit entitlement or to see if there are any other benefits you could be missing out on then ring our ‘missing benefits’ team on 01902 555351 or email them at wrs.benefitshelpline@wolverhampton.gov.uk

You can also contact: Citizens Advice: visit www.citizensadvice.org.uk or telephone 0800 144 8848 or Age UK: visit www.ageuk.org.uk or telephone 0800 678 1602.