Around 2.5 million pensioners are missing out on some form of state-funded benefit, pushing them either into poverty or at risk of it, a new report has found.
Research by the charity Independent Age shows that if all older people took up their full means-tested entitlements, 280,000 fewer pensioners would be living in poverty.
This would save the NHS and social care sectors in England £790m a year, due to improved health and socio-economic outlook for those people affected, the report claims.
Shorts
Depending on their individual circumstances, pensioners can be entitled to pension credit, council tax benefit and housing benefit or all three.
