Hundreds urged to take up unclaimed pension credit

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Many who are eligible for pension credit have not claimed it, the council said

Councils are contacting more than 700 households eligible to receive currently unclaimed pension credit.

Cambridgeshire County Council said the unclaimed benefits could total up to £2m.

Pension credit tops up your weekly income to £238 if you're single or your joint weekly income to £363.25 if you have a partner. Savings are also taken into account.

Identified residents will be contacted directly by their local council and will be advised of their eligibility and provided with support to help them apply for their unclaimed benefit.

Pension credit varies in value and is paid to people over the state pension age on a low income.

The Department for Work and Pensions said the amount received depended on a variety of factors.

The county council said its new campaign would target households eligible for the two elements of pension credit - guarantee credit and savings credit. Households may be eligible for both elements, or just one.

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Alison Whelan, chair of the communities, social mobility and inclusion committee at the county council, said: "This new targeted campaign will boost financial security and quality of life for hundreds of families across our county.

"I'm delighted to know that in Cambridgeshire we're putting money, up to £2m, back in the pockets of the families that are most vulnerable to the cost-of-living pressures facing us nationally."

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