Welfare Benefits Advice Service

Telephone: 02083 000883

Our Welfare Benefits Advice service offers a free, confidential and independent advice service to older residents living in the London borough of Bexley. We can offer this service either at our Head Office, our Day Centre in Sidcup, over the telephone or in your own home if required.

When you first contact us, we will carry out an Initial Assessment. This helps us to fully understand your circumstances and ensure that we provide the most appropriate level of support tailored to your individual needs. Please see below for more information on the different services our Welfare Benefits Advice Team can provide:

Benefit Checks

Our service can help check that you are getting all the benefits you are entitled to and give you information on other benefits you may be able to claim to maximise your income.

A Form Completion Service

If you live in the borough of Bexley, we can help with completing forms including.
 Attendance Allowance
 Personal Independence Payment
 Housing Benefit/Council tax support
 Blue Badge applications

Pension Credit

We are encouraging local older people to get in touch with our team. Latest figures show over two million UK older people are living in poverty, with Black and Asian older people most at risk. Our Welfare Benefit team are encouraging pensioners to check their eligibility for Pension Credit.
Pension Credit is a benefit that tops up low pensioner incomes, typically taking an older person who receives it above the poverty line. Being found to be eligible for Pension Credit also acts as a gateway to other benefits, potentially transforming an older person’s standard of living.

This may include:
- The warm home discount scheme if you are entitled to the Guarantee income element of Pension Credit ( this scheme is now closed but will re-open in October 2024).

- The 2023 to 2024 Cold Weather Payment scheme is now ended but will start again on 1st November 2024). This is different to the Winter Fuel payment. You will be able to check in November 2024 if your area is due a payment.

- You can get a Winter Fuel Payment for Winter 2024 to 2025 if you are entitled to the Guarantee Income element of Pension Credit.

- If you are a carer, you may also be entitled to an extra payment within the Pension Credit calculation, worth up to £45.60 a week for the single rate and £91.20 for the couple rate.

Statement of Purpose:

For more information about how our Welfare Benefit Service operates, please see our Statement of Purpose by clicking on the link below.

https://www.ageuk.org.uk/bexley/services/welfare-benefits-service-statement-of-purpose/

How to access the service:

By Phone: 0208 300 0883 (please leave a message if our phone line is busy and someone will call you back)
Online Contact Form: .

https://www.ageuk.org.uk/bexley/about-us/contact-us/

Opening Hours:

Monday-Friday 10am-4pm