Cost of Living Crisis

The rising cost of living crisis is having a huge impact on many people’s financial situations. We’re very aware of the complexity of this situation and how the help people need will vary. Our Information & Advice Team are able to support you through this time, offering guidance themselves as well as sharing the support available from other local organisations.

Below you will find some of the ways in which we can assist you if you are of pension age and eligible for your State Pension.

Checking you receive financial Support you are entitled to.

Ensuring you are receiving everything you are entitled to is very important, many people aren’t aware of the money they should be receiving. Our advisers will be able to discuss with you the different options available and guide you through any necessary application processes. We can provide support in whatever form suits you best: we can chat to you over the phone, send you information in the post or meet you in person. 

Benefit Checks - For Pensioners eligible for a State Pension.

These checks explore whether there are any benefits you could be claiming currently. Our Information & Advice Team can take you through this process and talk through the outcome. Dealing with benefits and claims can be confusing, we will ensure you know the next steps if there are unclaimed benefits you could be accessing.

Attendance Allowance

If you’re over State Pension age (and eligible for a State Pension) and you need help with your personal care because of a physical or mental illness or disability, you may be able to claim Attendance Allowance. There is an application process which must be worked through for this. Our Information & Advice Team will be able to go through the whole application with you, or refer you to the DWP to help you fill out the form.

 Schemes which could provide support

Cost of living payments - who is eligible | Age UK

Warm Home Discount

The Warm Home Discount provides a one-off payment to eligible customers to reduce their bills over the winter period. The final figure for support this year is yet to be released (currently this stands at £150). The money will act as a credit to your account, rather than paid to you directly, and will be paid between October and April. Changes are being made to the eligibility and claiming process for this winter, we will update you with information as soon as we have access to the final decision. Currently, people in receipt of the Guarantee Credit portion of Pension Credit will receive this discount automatically, provided you or your partner are listed on the bill and that your supplier is part of the scheme. 

If you do not fall in to this category, specifications for a wider group of people who can also qualify will be released soon as well as how to apply. To make sure that you are eligible to receive any Warm Home Discount this winter, now is a good time to check that you are claiming all the benefits you are entitled to. As mentioned above, our Information & Advice Team offer a Benefits Check to help with this.

A list of the suppliers who are part of this scheme can be found here.