10 March 2005 - Encouraging take-up: awareness of and attitudes to Pension Credit
Today, the Department for Work and Pensions publishes research examining older people’s attitudes to and knowledge about Pension Credit. The main purpose of this research was to identify reasons why some people are not taking up Pension Credit and to ascertain what steps DWP could take to help reduce the impact of these barriers and to further encourage take up. Findings will be used to direct the take-up campaign.
The report is based on analyses of a series of questions placed on the Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS) weekly omnibus survey. In total 2,300 older people (aged 60 and over) were interviewed in November 2004.
The main findings were:
Awareness of Pension Credit
- Eighty-one per cent of non-recipients had heard of Pension Credit.
Attitudes towards claiming benefits
- 78 per cent of people who received Pension Credit stated that they were better off since receiving the benefit.
- However, among those not currently receiving Pension Credit, 48 per cent felt that they would be better off if they received it.
Most of the analysis in the report focuses on older people from social class groups C1-E who are not claiming Pension Credit (as class was used as a proxy for likely eligibility, classes A and B were excluded as they were less likely to be entitled). Among this group the key findings are set out below.
- Just under half of all respondents in classes C1-E agreed that the government is doing more for pensioners on a low income and agreed that it has become easier for pensioners to apply for benefits to which they are entitled.
- A high percentage of respondents in classes C1-E felt that the state benefit system does not reward those who save for their retirement and only ten per cent of respondents disagreed with this statement.
- A large proportion of respondents in classes C1-E agreed that it is better to claim benefits in case you qualify and important to apply for benefits as there could be money that is rightfully yours.
Design features of Pension Credit and the rules of eligibility
- As supported by previous research, the findings indicate that the most common reason for not claiming Pension Credit is perceived ineligibility.
- Older people’s understanding of the rules of eligibility and design features of Pension Credit was generally low. The highest levels of misconception and uncertainty were around knowledge that claims can be backdated for one year (60 per cent were unaware of this and 20 per cent thought that is not possible). Significant proportions of older people also stated that home ownership (16 per cent) and financial support from family (13 per cent) bars them from receiving Pension Credit.
Encouraging take up
- Around a third of all non-recipients in classes C1-E stated that receiving practical help (a phone call or visit) would encourage them to apply for Pension Credit.
- Over a third of non-recipients in classes C1-E (36 per cent) stated that they would be encouraged to apply for Pension Credit if they were given a year's worth of entitlement in one lump sum.
- Thirty per cent of non-recipient respondents in classes C1-E said that they would apply if they knew they were definitely eligible and a further 13 per cent stated that they would apply if they thought that they might be eligible.
- Just over a third (35 per cent) of non recipients in classes C1-E stated that nothing would encourage them to apply for Pension Credit.
However subsequent analysis found that many of these people could in fact be persuaded or helped to apply. Of this group of 35 per cent, a large proportion (69 per cent) may actually be encouraged to apply for Pension Credit if they either, (i) knew that they would be entitled to a certain amount, and/or (ii) were offered a years worth of entitlement in one lump sum or (iii) were offered practical help to complete the application forms. Nevertheless a hard core of resistors were evident: 31 per cent of this group (C1-E non-recipients who said nothing would encourage them to apply) also said these initiatives would not trigger them to claim. When this figure of 31 per cent is applied to ALL C1-E non-recipients, it indicates, 11 per cent would remain resistant and not apply.
Notes for editors
- “Encouraging take-up: awareness of and attitudes to Pension Credit” by Clare Talbot, Laura Adelman and Robert Lilly is published on 7th March 2005. A summary and copy of the report are available on the DWP website at: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5
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