Don't Miss The Boat On Pension Credits - Dakers

12.00.00am GMT Mon 15th Nov 2004

Local Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidate Andrew Dakers is reminding all pensioners in Brentford, Isleworth and Chiswick to claim their entitlement under the new Pension Credit scheme, which was introduced in October 2003. Liberal Democrat research estimates that thousands of pensioners in the constituency are eligible for the pension credit. But pensioners who do not claim their entitlement will miss out.

The Pension Credit scheme replaces the Minimum Income Guarantee and also gives extra money to pensioners with small amounts of savings and private pensions.

Mr Dakers said,

"I want to make sure that all pensioners in our area who are entitled to the Pension Credit actually claim it. The Government has said it expects one million pensioners around the country will fail to claim the Pension Credit. This means that many of the poorest pensioners in our area may not get the cash due to them. This cannot be allowed to happen."

"I don't want local pensioners to miss out on a valuable source of income. The Pension Service hotline is 0800 99 1234, but if local pensioners are unsure how to claim they can also contact Age Concern and the local Citizen Advice Bureau."

Mr Dakers added,

"It is important that pensioners claim the Pension Credit. The Government has been very bad at ensuring that pensioners claim and as a result there are hundreds of thousands of pensioners living below the poverty line. While I would like to see a boost to the basic pension, under this Government the only way to get extra cash help is the Pension Credit."