17 May 2006
The Department for Work and Pensions has published the latest
estimates of the take-up of Pension Credit in Great Britain.
The take-up of Pension Credit is measured in two ways: by
caseload and by expenditure. Caseload take-up compares the number
of Pension Credit recipients - averaged over the year - with the
number who would be receiving if everyone took up their entitlement
for the full period of their entitlement. Expenditure take-up
compares the total amount of Pension Credit received, in the course
of a year, with the total amount that would be received if everyone
took up their entitlement for the full period of their entitlement.
So take-up would reach 100 per cent only if all those eligible
claimed, and did so for the full duration of their entitlement.
Key results from the latest estimates are:
Total Pension Credit take-up in 2004/2005 was in the range of 61
per cent and 69 per cent
by caseload and 72 per cent and 79per cent by expenditure.
The total amount of Pension Credit unclaimed was between
£1,460 million and £2,070 million.
The average number of pensioners entitled to Pension Credit and
yet not claiming it was between 1.14 million and 1.63 million. In
contrast, there were 2.57 million people claiming £5,460
million of Pension Credit.
These estimates cover only those people living in private
households - i.e. they do not cover people in residential care and
nursing homes, or those without accommodation.
