Independent Age’s new report, The only way is up, is a really timely and important contribution to the adequacy debate. The report examines how increasing take-up of Pension Credit, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction could affect pensioner poverty and state spending. Here are some key stats: In 2023/24, 62% of people eligible for Pension Credit received it, meaning 1.2 million older people missed out on £2.5 billion. Take-up of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction is also below full entitlement.
The research estimates that full take-up of these three entitlements would benefit 2.5 million pensioners, would lift around 280,000 people out of poverty, and would increase the incomes of a further 770,000 people who would still remain below the poverty line. Older renters, people reliant on the old State Pension and those living alone would be among the main beneficiaries.
The Stacked Disadvantage research I conducted with Janette Weir earlier this year showed that women, disabled people, carers and people from some ethnic minority groups are more likely to experience gaps in employment and pension saving, increasing their likelihood of relying on means-tested support in retirement. The same circumstances can make it harder to navigate the claims system. Awareness, digital access, language, trust, health and caring responsibilities can all affect take-up.
Independent Age is calling for the Government to publish an all-entitlements take-up strategy, with targets, measurement, and accountability. It wants the Pensions Commission to build agreement on what constitutes an adequate income in later life and define the roles of the State Pension and other entitlements in providing it.
The next step should be to treat take-up as a matter of system design, rather than relying mainly on individuals to identify and claim each entitlement. An all-entitlements strategy could use available data to identify eligibility, join up entitlements, and reduce the number of steps required from claimants. This is not only about benefit administration. It is also about reducing inequalities in a system in which some of the people most reliant on support face the greatest barriers to claiming it.
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