Three-quarters of pensioners miss out on £1,300 payment they don’t know they’re entitled to

Fewer than one in four who are eligible for council tax reductions are claiming it

Thousands of pensioners are failing to claim money owed to them, with up to three-quarters of eligible people missing out on an average of £1,339 a year, a new report shows.

More than four in ten (42 per cent) pensioner homeowners are eligible for at least one of a range of government payouts.

But 74 per cent of those are not claiming the money they could, despite likely being in low-income households, according to figures from retirement specialists Just Group

Part of the reason appears to be a lack of awareness about claiming the money, with some homeowners unaware that the options even exist.

“Our survey once again reveals what appears to be an epidemic of pensioner homeowners missing out on income they are entitled to claim,” said David Cooper, director at Just Group.

“Of those pensioner homeowners eligible for benefits, about three in four were failing to claim any benefit. These are low-income pensioner households likely to be struggling with the cost -of-living crisis.”

The benefits include guaranteed pension credit, savings pension credit, council tax reductions and universal credit.

Of those eligible for council tax reductions, for example, fewer than one in every four (24 per cent) people were claiming it - despite the average new claim value being more than £1,000 annually.

The Independent has previously reported DWP figures show nearly a million pensioners are missing out on the two parts of pension credit, as well as how they can check if they are eligible and start a claim.

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“Guaranteed pension credit is the main means-tested benefit for older people and a gateway to a range of other benefits such as winter fuel payment, but we found more than two thirds who were eligible were missing out,” Mr Cooper said.

“Our report raises serious questions about the support and guidance available to people heading into retirement and beyond.

“Benefits like pension credit are not paid automatically but must be claimed, so people need the foresight to check if they are entitled to it. It’s important cash-strapped pensioner households do not simply assume there is no state help available - a five-minute check could unlock thousands of pounds of income each year.”

The report shows that the pensioners failing to claim what they are eligible for included six in 10 (62 per cent) missing out on one key benefit, 12 per cent missing out on two and 5 per cent missing out on three.

Additionally, nearly one in seven (14 per cent) who were managing to claim, were actually receiving too little - missing out on an additional £1,162 a year income on average.

One customer was found to be missing out on £113.03 a week, or £5,877 a year.