A retiree, who was told she was eligible for pension credit, has been left in the dark after the Government refused to explain why her application was rejected.
Allan Holden, 60, cares for his 85-year-old disabled mother and helped her apply for the benefit in February last year.
His mother, who lives in sheltered accommodation in Stourbridge, Dudley, like many pensioners across the country is feeling the sharp and persistent pinch of the cost of living crisis.
Her energy bills are sky-high, as are her food costs, so the extra boost pension credit, and the winter fuel allowance, would give her is much needed, Mr Holden told The i Paper.
But her application was rejected by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and she doesn’t know why.
Mr Holden said: “I’ve just sorted the third pension credit application for my mum – I’ve been at it since last February.
“Frustratingly, the first one failed because the DWP had the wrong address down for her which caused some issues.
“The second one, which took six months to process, was rejected and they won’t give an explanation as to why.
“The rejection letter arrived in November 2023 and it said that her income was too high, but this isn’t true.”
Mr Holden said he used the Turn2Us benefit calculator online to double-check that she was eligible, and it said she was.
He added: “The rejection letter got it wrong and said her income was £260 a week, which is why they wouldn’t move forward with her application, but this figure is wrong. It’s much less than that.
“When I contacted the DWP to ask how they arrived at this figure, they said they wouldn’t discuss it.”
To claim pension credit, income has to be below £218, which Mr Holden says his mothers is.
He and his two brothers are now worried about how she will cope financially as she “will soon run out of money”.
With energy bills increasing and the winter fuel payment – worth between £200 and £300 – axed for pensioners not in receipt of pension credit, many face the choice between heating and eating this winter.
A Freedom of Information (FOI) request has revealed that more pensioners are being rejected for pension credit than are being granted it at this time of need.
Some 92,000 pension credit claims were rejected by the Government between April and December this year, while 91,000 claims were awarded, the data collected by wealth management firm Quilter shows.
This means over half of those applying will miss out on the winter fuel payment.
In comparison, between April 2023 and March 2024, the number of claims accepted was higher than those rejected at 134,000 and 112,000 respectively.
Even for those who are awarded the benefit, many won’t see the winter fuel payment land in their bank accounts until at least February because of the growing backlog of new pension credit claims.
According to Emma Reynolds, the pensions minister, Whitehall staff have been left with a pile-up of 91,075 unprocessed claims as of 18 November.
Overall, the DWP has received around 150,000 pension credit claims since 29 July, separate figures show.
To deal with the backlog, which was triggered by the Government’s own campaign to encourage eligible pensioners to apply, the DWP has put 500 extra staff in place.
Mr Holden, who has experienced these long delays first-hand, said he is going to write to his mother’s local MP – Cat Eccles – for help and said he will do so until they are successful.
He added: “I have helped several people with their benefits, and I think I understand the system. I worry for the people who don’t have anyone to help them and will miss out as a result.”
A Government spokesperson said: “While we cannot comment on this individual case, all eligible claims to pension credit can still be backdated by up to 3 months and is worth on average £4,200 so we continue to urge everyone eligible to apply.
“We have deployed around 500 additional staff to support processing applications, and we have seen a 51 per cent increase in the number of cleared claims since the Chancellor’s announcement.”
