Benefits for the Elderly

1. Benefits for the Elderly By Sarah Flett, Laura Brook and Abby Proctor

2. Pension Credit • Aims to supply the elderly with some form of income • Guaranteed Credit qualifying criteria: • Age in line with state pension age • Savings Credit qualifying criteria: • 65 and over • have made a contribution to a second pension or savings • Weekly income does not exceed £188 (if single) or £277 (with partner)

3. Successes and Failures of Pension Credit • Successes: • Everyone over the age of 65 is entitled to the guaranteed credit • Failures: • 4 million people are entitled to pension credit but between 27-38% of these still aren’t claiming it. • It’s too complicated and many pensioners struggle to understand the system

4. Council Tax Benefit • Aims to supply those with a low income with extra funds • Qualifying Criteria: • Income and savings • Who you live with • The amount of council tax you pay • Any other benefits you receive • Means tested

5. Successes and Failures of Council Tax Benefit • Successes: • Aimed at the people who need it most rather than people receiving it unnecessarily • Failures: • 1.4 million eligible elderly people are missing out on council tax benefit

6. Housing Benefits • Aims to help those with low incomes pay part or all of their rent • Qualifying Criteria: • You have savings of under £16,000 • You don’t live in the home of a close relative • If you live with a partner, only one person can claim

7. Successes and Failures of Housing Benefits • Successes: • Benefit is paid directly to landlord, thus reducing confusion and increasing transparency • Failures: • Homes are becoming less affordable, even with housing benefits • Claim form runs to 33 pages with 7 pages of explanatory notes (HCTB 1) • 380,000 older people who are entitled to housing benefits are not claiming it

8. Winter Fuel Payment • Aims to help the elderly keep warm during winter. • Qualifying Criteria: • Must have been born before 5/1/51 • Not means tested • Money received: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Pensionsandretirementplanning/Benefits/BenefitsInRetirement/DG_179916

9. Successes and Failures of Winter Fuel Payments • Successes: • Offers help to those with good savings • No tax to pay • Failures: • Some elderly people are too wealthy to need winter fuel payments but still receive it • Costs £2.7 billion per year but only 12% of recipients are in fuel poverty • 5.4 million households are still in fuel poverty and 25,400 pensioners in the UK die due to extreme cold (2010) • Badly publicised and pensioners don’t know it is available • Recently been cut and with recent rising fuel costs, many pensioners who are claiming still cannot keep warm • Energy companies are not required to help the terminally ill or disabled and criteria needs to be widened to encompass these vulnerable groups

10. Attendance Allowance • Aims to help the elderly with disabilities afford personal care • Qualifying Criteria: • You have a physical disability • Your disability is severe enough to need a carer • You are aged 65 or over

11. Successes and Failures of Attendance Allowance • Successes: • Those who are terminally ill get higher rates of Attendance Allowance straight away • Failures: • No medical examination required so people can abuse the system

12. Disability Living Allowance • Aims to help those with disabilities afford personal care • Qualifying Criteria: • You have a physical disability • Your disability is severe enough to need a carer • You are under 65 (over 65’s get attendance allowance)

13. Successes and Failures of Disability Living Allowance • Successes: • Tax-free and not affected by savings or employment • Those who are terminally ill get higher rates of DLA straight away • Failures: • No medical examination required so people can abuse the system

14. Free Eye Tests/Voucher Towards Glasses • Aims to offer the elderly vision-related treatment which would otherwise cost money • Qualifying Criteria: • You are aged 60 or over • You have a listed medical condition • You are a war pensioner • You receive the guaranteed credit benefit

15. Successes and Failures of Free Eye Tests • Successes: • Opticians are often very expensive and thus much money is saved • Failures: • Under a Conservative government, the future of free eye tests is uncertain • Many elderly people are not aware that this is available for them

16. Cold Weather Payments • Aims to help people stay warm in the event of cold weather • Qualifying criteria: • Receiving Pension Credit • Receiving Income Support

17. Successes and Failures of Cold Weather Payments • Successes: • You don’t have to receive the other winter fuel payments • There is no need to re-apply, the benefit is automatic if you have received it before • Not means-tested • Failures: • Only triggered in the event of extreme weather

18. Warm Front • Aims to provide heating and insulation improvements to households on certain income-related benefits • Qualifying Criteria: • Must be on Pension Credit or Income-Related Support Allowance • You own your own home or rent from a private landlord

19. Successes and Failures of Warm Front • Successes: • The scheme has recently assisted its 2 millionth customer • Failures: • The scheme is only available in England (but there are equivalents for the rest of the UK) • There are lots of requirements to be able to qualify

20. Overall Successes and Failures of Benefits for the Elderly • Successes: • It’s a source of income that elderly people would otherwise not receive • Failures: • The whole system is too complicated • Some elderly people are too proud to claim benefits • Many elderly people do not have internet access and therefore don’t know what benefits are available for them • Around 30% of elderly people are not claiming the benefits they are entitled to. • £5.4bn of means-tested benefits went unclaimed in 2008/9.