Thousands of Midland households missing out on £3,600 - how to claim

Sandwell Council has urged elderly residents to check if they're eligible for Pension Credit, with many households missing out

A Midlands council has urged pensioners to check if they're eligible to claim for Pension Credit worth more than £3,000 a year, with hundreds of thousands of households believed to be missing out. Pension Credit is a benefit that helps elderly residents pay their fuel bills during the winter when it gets colder.

Sandwell Council said its focusing on increasing the uptake any unclaimed benefits residents might be entitled to - particularly pension credit. It comes as the Government identified as many as 880,000 pensioner households that keep be missing out in the initiative. It's believed the average underclaim could be worth up to £3,600 a year.

Councillor Kerrie Carmichael, Leader of Sandwell Council, said: "We have been working hard to help Sandwell residents throughout the cost-of-living crisis by providing support and advice through services such as housing, school meals and Welcoming Spaces to help people stay warm and healthy throughout winter. There is lots of information available on our website and we want residents who are concerned about paying their fuel bills this winter to find out if they are eligible for pension credit or any other benefit that makes them eligible to claim winter fuel allowance.

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"Pensioners claiming Housing Benefit who are entitled to pension credit and not claiming will be proactively contacted by our Welfare Rights Team. It is well worth checking if you’re eligible and applying and we are here to help with a dedicated team. So don’t delay find out if you are eligible for pension credit online or contact our team on 0121 569 3158 between 9am to 1pm."

Who's eligible and how to apply

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 the week of 16 to 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 up to £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, in order 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 visit www.gov.uk. 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 0121 569 3158.

You can also contact Citizens Advice or telephone 0800 144 8848 or Age UK or telephone 0800 678 1602. For cost-of-living help and advice, Sandwell Council has a support page for further information.