One week to apply for pension credit and potentially receive extra £301 cost-of-living payment

• People applying for pension credit can still receive the Spring 2023 cost-of-living payment if their claim is made before 19th May
• This is the first of three payments totaling £900 being made by the Government to eligible households
• Citizens Advice South Gloucestershire estimates there are as many as 4,000 unclaimed pension credit claims in the region

Thousands of people missing out on pension credit have a week to apply and potentially be eligible for a one-off £301 extra cost-of-living payment.

Applications for the benefit need to be made before 19th May. This is in order for applicants to potentially access the first of three cost-of-living payments in 2023/24.

National figures show there are 850,000 households eligible for pension credit but are not claiming. As a result, they are missing out on a combined total of £1.8bn.

Citizens Advice South Gloucestershire estimates there are 4,000 unclaimed pension credit claims in the region alone.

This figure is based on the percentage of the population of England, Wales and Scotland who are thought to be eligible but not claiming (1.3 per cent) applied to the population of South Gloucestershire (290,400).

To be eligible for pension credit, you must have reached State Pension age. You must also not have too much income or savings and live in the UK.

You can still be working, as long as your income isn’t too high. Unlike the State Pension, you don’t need a national insurance record. It is worth more than £3,500 per year on average.

Cost-of-living payment

Pension credit claims can be backdated for up to three months. This means applications made before 19th May could allow applicants to receive the first £301 cost-of-living payment.

This is part of a £900 grant available to people on means-tested benefits – with payments due to be made in three instalments from Spring 2023 to Spring 2024.

Emmanuelle Claverie is Lead Supervisor at Citizens Advice South Gloucestershire and leads a team of Advisers.

She said: “The Government is making a Cost of Living payment available and people are missing out. People are not claiming not only the ongoing benefit but also the extra support on top.

“The main thing is to do it – if in doubt, apply. People can come to us if they have any queries – but they don’t have a huge amount of time.”

There are face-to-face drop-in sessions in the Yate office on Mondays (4pm to 6pm), Tuesdays (10am to 3pm) and Fridays (10am to 1pm).

There are also outreach sessions in Bradley Stoke, Thornbury, Cadbury Heath, Emersons Green and Stoke Gifford throughout the week – check here for dates and times.

Alternatively, the office can be called on 0808 278 7947 or online advice is available here.

• Anyone in South Gloucestershire seeking free, independent, impartial and confidential advice from Citizens Advice South Gloucestershire can call 0808 278 7947 or visit: southgloscab.org.uk
• Anyone wishing to donate to Citizens Advice South Gloucestershire to help it continue its vital work should visit: https://bit.ly/3kG7HyB