Martin Lewis has given pensioners 48 hours’ notice before they risk missing out on a £301 government payment.
Up to one million seniors who are qualified but have not yet requested the Pension Credit benefit from the Department for Work and Pensions should do so before the deadline on Friday, according to the money-saving expert.
According to Mr. Lewis, seniors who are single and make less than £220 a week or who are married and make less than £320 a week may be eligible for the Pension Credit.
He urged low-income retirees to confirm their eligibility and apply for the payout as soon as possible to avoid losing out.
“If you’re eligible for pension credit and you’re missing out you need to check now, today, or tomorrow or Friday at the latest, because if you are eligible then you get that extra £301,” Mr Lewis told ITV’s Good Morning Britain viewers.
Mr. Lewis stated that there are “loads of reasons” why people have not checked to see if they qualify for the payout and warned that up to a million eligible retirees could miss out on the cash. People are unaware of it, he claimed.
Mr. Lewis asserted that the government is attempting to encourage people to apply for the Pension Credit benefit.
Some pensioners, according to Mr. Lewis, have not requested the payment because they believe they will only receive a modest sum. The benefit, according to the money-saving expert, “is a gateway to so many more entitlements.”
Pension Credit may entitle you to a larger cost-of-living payment from the government of £900, council tax benefit, housing benefit, or assistance with your dental and optical costs, according to Mr. Lewis. “Even if pension Credit itself is trivial, everything else it opens the door to is massive,” he added.
Over 75s who are eligible for the payment could also be entitled to a free TV license, Mr Lewis said. He added: “Let us together as a nation work to try and get those million pensioners on the lowest incomes who are missing out to claim what they have paid into the system for years that they are entitled to.”
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has stated that by Wednesday night, more than seven million households in the UK will have received a £301 cost-of-living adjustment.
The payments are a part of a larger package of government assistance announced to combat rising living costs in 2023–2024, which also includes a further £300 payment for qualified families in the fall of 2023 and a payment of £299 in the spring of 2024.
The payment, according to Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride, highlights the government’s “commitment to ensure that those on the lowest income are protected from the worst of rising prices and give them peace of mind.”
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said: “We know the impact that rising prices are having on families, which is why we are providing significant support to millions through these direct cash payments.”
If a person was entitled to a payment for a specific benefit between 16 January and 15 February 2023, such as universal credit, pension credit, or child tax credit, they will be eligible for the £301 cost-of-living payment.
