Pensioner homeowners over 65 are more than twice as likely as renters to have never checked their eligibility for state benefits beyond their state pension, according to research by HUB Financial Solutions.
The study found that 38% of homeowners had never checked if they were entitled to extra benefits, compared to just 15% of renters.
Despite the ongoing cost of living crisis and high borrowing rates, many pensioner households may be missing out on thousands of pounds in additional income.
Only 20% of homeowners reported checking their benefit eligibility in the last year, compared to 41% of renters.
Matt Halksworth, head of customer solutions at HUB Financial Solutions, said: “While inflation may be coming down, many pensioners will still have seen their budgets squeezed over the past few years.
“Our research suggests many homeowners are not even checking to see if they could be entitled to valuable financial support from the government. It suggests that many pensioners may think that owning a home could exclude them from benefits such as Pension Credit.”
Further research by HUB’s sister company, Just Group, revealed that 79% of pensioner homeowners eligible for benefits were not claiming them, missing out on an average of £1,231 annually.
The Government’s latest statistics indicate that up to 880,000 pensioner families eligible for Pension Credit and 360,000 eligible for housing benefit did not claim these benefits, resulting in billions of pounds going unclaimed.
Halksworth urged pensioners not to assume they are ineligible for support and to use free resources to check their entitlement.
