Your rights week: 7 - 14 April 2007

Age Concern's Your Rights week, is our annual campaign to encourage older people to claim the benefits which are rightfully theirs.

Despite high levels of pensioner poverty and rising bills, older people are more likely than any other group to miss out on benefits cash. Many older people don't claim because they don’t realise that they are entitled to extra money, don’t know how to claim, or feel there is a stigma attached to claiming and would rather ‘make do’.

Pension Credit, Council Tax Benefit, Housing Benefit and Attendance Allowance are just some of the benefits available to older people. In some cases, pensioners could double their income by claiming the benefits they are entitled to. And despite Council Tax being a major headache for millions, Council Tax Benefit is still the most unclaimed benefit of all.

This year, 2007, we were very pleased that the Mayor of Waltham Forest, Cllr Farooq Qureshi, was able to support our street stall in Walthamstow High Street to raise awareness of the range of benefits available to older people. Age Concern staff and the Mayor distributed leaflets, booklets and provided advice and information to the many callers who stopped at the stall.

Age Concern Waltham Forest's Leader of Information and Advice, Ghulam Minhas - seen with the Mayor in the second photograph below - commented, "Street stalls are an effective way of meeting people who we may not be able to contact easily. They also give us an opportunity to provide advice and information directly to people about the benefits thay may be entitled to. We hope that at least some of the people we have seen today will go on to claim a benefit which is rightfully theirs."

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