Sheffield charity helps isolated older people claim £500,000 in extra benefits

Age UK Sheffield’s Information and Advice Service assisted in the claiming of an additional £520,194 of benefits, mainly Attendance Allowance and Pension Credit, between April and December last year.

The service helps older people who are house-bound and have health, mobility or other issues and are unable to get help elsewhere, and research showed a rising demand for help with finance-related issues.

Age UK Sheffield’s deputy chief executive, Bridget Strong, said: “We receive more than double the number of benefits queries than anything else.

“Queries range from benefits checks and helping people with their applications to more complex casework such as challenging decisions and dealing with benefit overpayments - the service deals with a very broad spectrum of enquiries and often customers have multiple issues they need help with.

“For example, we assisted one couple from Hackenthorpe where the wife had several long-standing health conditions. Her poor mobility meant she couldn’t leave the house, and her husband was also her carer. They were on a low income and in receipt of some benefits, but she had fallen earlier in the year, injuring her shoulder, and was worried about asking for her Disability Living Allowance (DLA) to be reviewed in light of her additional care needs.

“We visited the couple at home to assist with the DLA review and she was subsequently awarded the care component while her husband is now claiming Carers Allowance, resulting in a total increase to their income of £77.68 per week.”

Ms Strong said billions of pounds of Pension Credit, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit goes unclaimed every by older people “who are either unaware they are entitled or are put off by worries over the potential complex paperwork involved.”

“The experience of the Hackenthorpe couple alone demonstrates just what a significant impact this can have - not just on people’s income, but also their quality of life,” she added.

For more information on Age UK Sheffield and the Information and Advice Service call 0114 250 2850 or visit www.ageuk.org.uk/sheffield.