A new Department for Work and Pensions drive will send 660,000 Pension Credit leaflets to households in seven parts of the UK, as ministers seek to reach older people who may qualify for support but are not claiming it. The distribution is focused on places with a high proportion of low-income pensioners: Glasgow, Powys, Stockton-on-Tees, inland Cornwall, Birmingham, East Suffolk and Manchester.
The campaign is taking place during Pension Credit Week of Action. The leaflets are intended to explain how to check eligibility and apply, as well as how relatives can help someone make a claim. They also challenge the belief that owning a home or having savings automatically rules out an application. Neither circumstance alone necessarily prevents an award, although income and household circumstances matter.
What the campaign figures mean
The department says Pension Credit is worth more than £4,500 a year on average and is already received by around 1.4 million pensioner households. Those figures describe the existing caseload and an average value; they are not a promise that every claimant will receive that amount. The payment depends on individual circumstances, and the headline average should not be read as a fixed weekly rate.
The new leaflet distribution follows a larger awareness campaign that ran through 2025. The department says that earlier effort was followed by 33,500 additional applications. Applications are not the same as awards: the figure does not establish how many of those applications were successful, how much was paid, or how many people ultimately began receiving the benefit. The latest campaign is intended to prompt checks and claims, but the 660,000 figure counts households receiving advice, not people confirmed to be eligible.
Independent Age cited an analysis estimating that in 2023/24 more than one million older people on low incomes who were eligible were not receiving Pension Credit, representing £2.5 billion in unclaimed support. That estimate relates to a particular year and should not be confused with the number reached by this week’s campaign or with the department’s count of current recipient households.
Eligibility depends on the household
Pension Credit is an income-related benefit for people who have reached State Pension age and live in England, Scotland or Wales. For 2026/27, the basic Guarantee Credit calculation tops weekly income up to £238 for a single person or £363.25 for a couple. Some people with income above those levels may still qualify if they have additional circumstances such as a disability, caring responsibilities or housing costs. Couples are assessed together, and the application must include a partner.
Savings are considered, but they do not create an automatic bar. The first £10,000 in savings and investments is disregarded in the calculation; above that, each £500 is treated as £1 of weekly income. Home ownership is also not, by itself, a disqualifier. The result depends on the rules and the person’s full financial and household position, so an indicative check is not a guarantee of entitlement.
For people who qualify, the value may extend beyond the weekly top-up. Pension Credit can open access to other forms of help with household costs, while separate benefits such as Attendance Allowance have their own eligibility rules. The DWP says campaign material will also explain how Pension Credit works alongside support including Winter Fuel Payment and Cold Weather Payments; no individual should assume that receiving one payment automatically means they qualify for another.
Reaching people beyond the claimant
The area-based approach is designed to put information directly through letterboxes in seven places selected for relatively high proportions of low-income pensioners. The department is also using print, television, radio and social media advertising, alongside a partnership with a television quiz programme. Its message asks pensioners to check their own position and encourages family members to assist where needed.
That distinction matters in a take-up campaign: awareness material can prompt a check, but only an assessment of a person’s circumstances can establish entitlement. The DWP’s stated goal is to reduce missed claims, while the new distribution provides a further opportunity for residents and their families to find out whether an application may be appropriate.
