Older people living on their own could be due £3,500 annual State Pension top-up

dailyrecord.co.uk:

State Pension payments increased by 10.1 per cent on April 10 for millions of older people across Great Britain, including more than one million living in Scotland.

However, despite a record-breaking rise in payments of the contributory benefit, it is estimated that over 1.8million pensioners living on their own have an income of less than £100 per week.The latest figures from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) show that 12.6 million people are now receiving State Pension payments.

This includes 9.7 million people on the Basic State Pension, which is now worth up to £156.20 per week and 2.9 million on the New State Pension, which is worth up to £203.85 per week.Helen Morrissey, senior pensions and retirement analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown warns at least some of those on the lowest State Pension payments could be missing out on Pension Credit, a benefit delivered by the DWP which is worth more than £3,500 each year in financial support and discounts which could increase their income.Ms Morrissey explained: “The new State Pension has done much to boost the financial resilience of women in retirement and close the gap with men.

This is great news but the comparison between what women receive on the new and basic rate pension systems is stark - on average more than £18 per week.“We also forget that many people do not receive anywhere near the full amount of State Pension and there are currently 1.8m people receiving less than £100 per week.