Bureaucracy 'may be affecting pension credit uptake'
08/02/2010
Topic: Tax
Bureaucracy may be one factor that is stopping people from applying for the pension credit that they might be eligible to receive, it has been suggested.
According to the Family and Parenting Institute's Policy Adviser Carena Rogers, there could be systematic problems that are affecting the uptake of certain financial benefits among older consumers.
She commented: "Many older people are put off claiming pension credits because of the bureaucracy involved.
"Some people do not understand which benefits they are entitled to and are wary of being means-tested."
Ms Rogers went on to say that ministers should aim to ensure that people working in job centres are able to offer more support to consumers when it comes to claiming useful benefits.
Meanwhile, pension credit is among the benefits that 27 charities - including Citizens Advice - feel should be promoted more by the government to consumers in the UK.
Posted by David Shuker.
According to the Family and Parenting Institute's Policy Adviser Carena Rogers, there could be systematic problems that are affecting the uptake of certain financial benefits among older consumers.
She commented: "Many older people are put off claiming pension credits because of the bureaucracy involved.
"Some people do not understand which benefits they are entitled to and are wary of being means-tested."
Ms Rogers went on to say that ministers should aim to ensure that people working in job centres are able to offer more support to consumers when it comes to claiming useful benefits.
Meanwhile, pension credit is among the benefits that 27 charities - including Citizens Advice - feel should be promoted more by the government to consumers in the UK.
Posted by David Shuker.
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