Sports field with goal posts and houses in the distanceee

Cost of Living and Pension Top Up campaign

Thousands of older people across Greater Manchester are missing out on money they are entitled to. This winter we are encouraging and helping residents of State Pension age to access the millions of pounds that go unclaimed every year.

Using UK-level estimates, our research team found that in Greater Manchester:

  • There are around 38,000 eligible households not claiming Pension Credit, 30,000 not claiming Attendance Allowance, and 33,000 not claiming Carer’s Allowance
  • This equates to £367m per year across the city region
  • 1 in 4 people of State Pension age can claim Pension Credit which is worth on average £3,400 a year

That’s why the Greater Manchester Ageing Hub is launching the next phase of the Pension Top Up campaign to encourage older people – or their loved ones – to check they are getting all that they are entitled to.

Borough data

If you work in a borough of Greater Manchester and would like to use your borough’s data in your communications, download your borough’s data pack.

Bolton - Pension Credit summary (PPTX, 3.4MB) Bury - Pension Credit summary (PPTX, 3.2MB) Manchester - Pension Credit summary (PPTX, 3.3MB) Oldham - Pension Credit summary (PPTX, 3.2MB) Rochdale - Pension Credit summary (PPTX, 3.3MB) Salford - Pension Credit summary (PPTX, 3.3MB) Stockport - Pension Credit summary (PPTX, 3.3MB) Tameside - Pension Credit summary (PPTX, 3.3MB) Trafford - Pension Credit summary (PPTX, 3.3MB) Wigan - Pension Credit summary (PPTX, 3.3MB)

 

Communications toolkit

Download the latest communications toolkit, ZIP (8MB) for October 2024.

Previous campaign phases

Pension Top Up campaign phase one

The first phase of the Pension Top Up campaign, launched in January 2021 during the pandemic, was primarily driven by housing providers across Greater Manchester. Many providers actively engaged with their older residents, writing letters, phoning and offering support through the claims process.

The campaign generated at least £3 million of additional income for older GM residents. To our surprise, the additional income came mainly through Attendance Allowance and Housing Benefit rather than Pension Credit.

Pension Top Up campaign phase two

There’s still a huge amount of money going unclaimed across Greater Manchester, and now that we are out of lockdown restrictions, we want to reach even more older people. With rising living costs, it’s so important that older residents don’t miss out on regular income that can really help meet growing household bills.

The second phase of Pension Top Up campaign was rolled out across the city-region in January 2024

Access all our previous communications toolkits.