Preventing poverty and its consequences: why we must close the take-up gap for older people

Almost £350 million a year. That’s the amount unpaid - but due - to pensioners in Scotland. It’s hundreds of millions unpaid every year to older people on a low income who are eligible for Pension Credit, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction.

It’s the take-up gap.

And that gap causes 200,000 older people on low incomes to miss out on millions of pounds collectively and thousands of pounds individually. Shockingly on average, people miss out on the equivalent of an annual energy bill (£1,700).

These are the staggering findings of new research from Independent Age and Public First, which sets out the impact take-up rates of social security have on older people and public services.

The cost of poverty –on people and wider society – has long been known. It is felt by the older person who cannot turn the heating on and in hospital wards during the winter.

At a time when preventative public spending and the economic wellbeing of individuals, communities and the wider economy are in the spotlight, closing the take-up gap would lift 30,000 pensioners out of poverty, while also saving the NHS and social care £90 million per year through improved health outcomes.

Because while £346 million, isn’t reaching eligible pensioners every year, we have 130,000 pensioners in poverty in Scotland, one in three of our older households in fuel poverty and 17% at risk of malnutrition.

We know first-hand the importance of ensuring that at the very least, every older person receives what they are already entitled to. At Independent Age, every day our Helpline identifies what older people are entitled to and provides the support needed to access social security payments.

This alone can make a huge difference. And with the numbers missing out so vast, the urgency for this could not be greater.

So why, when the need so clearly exists, is this happening?

Our Older People’s Economic Wellbeing Index Scotland: 2026 found that 1 in 5 older people don’t know about Pension Credit, and 1 in 4 are unaware of Council Tax Reduction and Housing Benefit. And even when people are aware, the application process can pose further barriers.

We also know that language around social security matters. We speak to older people who are living in material deprivation but can be scared, due to the stigma that can exist in society, to reach out for support. Our previous research found as many as 1 in 5 older people were worried about how others would perceive them for receiving social security payments.

This isn’t right, and we must ensure that as we age all of us are empowered to seek out and access what we are entitled to. We also need to make sure the system is as simple as possible by joining up systems and data.  

This month, the third iteration of the Scottish Government’s Benefit Uptake Strategy will be published. There have been positive signs, including the Programme for Government commitment to maximise take-up. We must ensure this ambition is met for older people with action and results over the next strategy period. No such strategy to improve take-up exists at UK level – this is something that must change.

The moral and economic case for putting money into people’s pockets and millions of pounds into Scotland’s communities is clear, now it is time for action.

Independent Age is here to support older people living on a low income. We have a free Helpline available on 0800 319 6789 and free guides available through or website (independentage.org) or by calling the Helpline.

This article is sponsored by Independent Age

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