New research by Policy in Practice, coming soon, updates the total amount of income related benefits and social tariffs unclaimed in the United Kingdom, finding it has increased since 2023.
Our Missing out 2023 analysis found that £19 billion of support goes unclaimed by households across the UK each year.
Register here to get your copy of Missing out in 2024
The figures are shocking at any time, but especially when so many households require significant financial support.
The latest DWP figures show almost one in five households are in absolute poverty once housing costs are included. Five million people live in households with a negative budget. This means that even after expert help their outgoings still exceed what comes in.
Ensuring everyone claims the benefits they are entitled to is one of the most effective ways to support struggling households.
Three reasons why benefits are unclaimed in the UK
There are multiple reasons why benefits go unclaimed, and every non-claimant’s situation will be different. Yet we can identify some of the main causes of the non-take up of benefits.
1. Lack of awareness
Perhaps the clearest reason why benefits go unclaimed is due to a lack of awareness of eligibility. Our recent analysis estimated that people of pension age could be missing out on £5.2 billion in Attendance Allowance due largely to a lack of knowledge about the benefit and who can claim it.
People may also be unaware that they need to apply separately for social tariffs and local supports like Council Tax Reduction. Universal Credit brings many nationally administered benefits together, but there is still room to increase public awareness of benefits availability.
2. Administrative complexity and increasing fragmentation of support
The UK’s social security system has evolved over time into a complex system for potential claimants to navigate. The existence of multiple application methods, different administering bodies, and varying eligibility and conditionality regimes can make it hard to determine how to access support.
Those experiencing poverty are already under extreme stress, which can be worsened by efforts to navigate the system. The move towards digital systems for benefits can also serve as a barrier, with an estimated 8.5 million adults in the UK lacking essential digital skills.
Perceived gaps in the existing means tested benefits system have led to a web of locally administered discretionary schemes. These schemes frequently differ by availability and generosity depending on location, creating a postcode lottery scenario as seen with locally administered Council Tax Reduction. The means tested social tariffs offered by utility companies often suffer from the same problems.
3. Stigma
Benefits continue to be associated with stigma and shame for many people, who may disengage from the social security system as a result.
Benefits claimants are often portrayed as ‘undeserving’, and surveys have found that up to a quarter of individuals eligible for but not claiming Universal Credit failed to claim due to ‘benefits stigma’.
Negative media reporting on benefits exacerbates this situation. A recent campaign by Policy in Practice focusing on increasing take up of Pension Credit amongst older Londoners found stigma to be a powerful hurdle to claiming.
Deliberate barriers in the social security system like conditionality and threats of sanctions can also deter eligible claimants from engaging with the system.
Are you missing out on unclaimed benefits and support?
Knowledge of why benefits go unclaimed is crucial to closing the staggering gap between eligibility and take up of UK benefits.
Policy in Practice works with hundreds of local authorities, housing providers, utility organisations and others across the UK to increase take up of support.
We believe it should be easy for people to access benefits and support.
We built the award winning Better Off platform to close the unclaimed support gap we identified. It makes it easy for organisations to build the income of their customers and reduce their costs. Each tool is powerful alone and they’re even better together.
- Better Off Calculator: A smart, easy calculator to help you maximise your customer’s income, increase engagement and save time and resources
- Low Income Family Tracker: Intelligent data analytics software to help you maximise your resident’s income and reduce your costs
- Multi Agency Safeguarding Tracker: Simply clever software to help safeguarding professionals securely share headline data and make more informed safeguarding decisions
- Policy analysis: Essential expert social policy analysis to help you make better evidenced decisions
On an individual level, households and families can use Policy in Practice’s free Better Off Calculator to check their entitlement to a range of national and local benefits, and to see how much they might be able to claim.
