MPs have discussed proposals to improve access to DWP benefits. People may want to check over their entitlements to see if they can claim any more Government support.
You can get a range of payments from the DWP, such as Universal Credit and PIP (Personal Independence Payment) if you are of working age, or Pension Credit and Attendance Allowance, if you are of state pension age. The Treasury Committee recently spoke with policy advocates about efforts to open up access to the benefits system.
They were talking about the Government’s Financial Inclusion Strategy, a policy to get people more financially engaged and aware of the support they can get.
Unclaimed benefits
She said: “The bit that could have gone in this strategy that is missing is around how you address the £24billion a year of unclaimed benefits—that figure is from Policy in Practice. We should be talking about how we increase access to income maximisation support for people who are financially excluded and who are living on low incomes.
“I would like to have seen that in the section of the strategy that talks about debt advice.” She went on to say that some groups in particular could benefit from more help to ensure they get any extra income they are entitled to through the benefits system.
Ms Undy said: “Our research suggests that, particularly for people with more complex needs, like mental health problems, having access to an individual—face to face, ideally, or over the telephone—who can give them income maximisation support can be transformational. That is a key thing that I think is missing in the strategy, but that we could still go further on. I would like to see more on that.”
There are several benefit calculator tools you can use to work out if you are entitled to more benefits. For example, there is one on the Turn2us website.
State pension entitlement
Another benefit it’s worth considering is your state pension entitlement. The full new state pension currently pays £241.30 a week. Payments rose 4.8 per cent in April thanks to the triple lock.
You build up your entitlement through paying National Insurance (NI). You typically need 35 years of NI contributions to get the full amount.
A person can check how much they are on track to get using the state pension forecast tool on the Government website. This tool also shows you if you can increase your entitlement by voluntarily buying more NI contributions.
It’s important to check that buying more contributions will actually increase your entitlement before you pay for them, as this may not be the case.
