People of pension age may be missing out on £5.2 billion

This research finds that over 1.1 million pension age households could be missing out on £5.2 billion of Attendance Allowance per year.

This support is intended to help pension age households cope with the additional costs of disability.

Rising living costs, together with relatively low UK pensions compared to many similar countries, mean that many pension age households now struggle to meet their basic outgoings.

This issue is particularly acute in households in which a person has a disability and needs additional support to cope with day to day living.

A recent report by Scope calculated the average cost of disability to be an additional £1,122 per month.

Maximising pension age income through the take up of benefits is essential to reduce harm, debt or other crises.

Additional income to assist with disability can make a significant difference to people of pension age by affording adequate nutrition, warmth and participation in society.

An award of Attendance Allowance can be worth up to £5,306 per annum.

This represents a significant proportion of the average pension age income.

ONS data shows that the average income for a single pensioner in 2022 was £18,148 per year.

An award of Attendance Allowance would therefore represent an additional 29% of income for these pensioners.

For a single pensioner in receipt of Pension Credit, which is currently £10,454 per annum, Attendance Allowance would increase their income by 51%.