Pensioners 'failing to claim council tax benefit'

An estimated £1.8 billion of Council Tax Benefit is going unclaimed each year across the UK and individual people could be owed as much as £600, according to official figures.

The Department for Work and Pensions today called on homeowners, pensioners and people on low incomes to check whether they are eligible for a rebate on their council tax bill worth an average of £11.50 per week.

Almost half of pensioners entitled to the benefit are failing to claim it - between 42% and 47% according to the DWP figures.

And take-up rates are lowest among eligible owner-occupiers, most of whom are pensioners, with between 59% and 64% of those entitled to the benefit not receiving it.

Conservatives said that the problem was caused by the use of "complex and intrusive means-testing" to determine entitlement to the benefit, and called on Chancellor Gordon Brown to introduce a simpler system.

Council tax benefit offers anyone on a low income help towards paying their bill. Many people, particularly pensioners who own their home, are unaware that they have the right to this help.

People claiming pension credit can also access council tax benefit and housing benefit in one call to the Pension Service, said benefits minister James Plaskitt.

Mr Plaskitt added: "Many people could see their council tax bill reduced or even paid in full just by filling in a form.

"We want to ensure that as far as possible people get the money they are entitled to - it is a right not a privilege.

"We encourage people to tell their friends and family about council tax benefit and urge them to contact their local authority to find out what they are entitled to."

Shadow work and pensions secretary Philip Hammond said: "This is more evidence that Gordon Brown's obsession with complex and intrusive means-testing is disadvantaging vulnerable people.

"A third of pensioners and three-quarters of non-pensioners who don't claim the council tax benefit they are due are living in poverty.

"We need a simpler, fairer welfare system - not one that leads to confusion and poverty for hard-pressed families and pensioners."

Gordon Lishman, director general of Age Concern England, said: "It's really worrying that £1.8 billion in council tax benefit is failing to reach those who need it most, especially pensioners living on a low, fixed income.

"We urge the Chancellor to address the problem of council tax in his Budget on Wednesday.

"We want the Government to replace council tax with a fairer system linked to people's ability to pay.

"Until that happens, we want the Government to make it easier for people to claim council tax benefit and other state benefits. Both a single telephone claim line for all pensioners and automatic payments will make this easier.

"Older people can who are anxious about their council tax bill can contact their local Age Concern for a benefits check."

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