2 March 2010: Local Economy Missing Out On Millions

Jennifer McCann MLA, Patrick Minne A2B and Simon Hamilton MLA

Pictured are Jennifer McCann, MLA, Patrick Minne, A2B and Simon Hamilton, MLA.

At least £60 million a year goes unclaimed by Northern Ireland people over 60 in Pension Credit alone.  Because it does not come from the Northern Ireland block grant, this is money lost not just to older individuals but also to Northern Ireland’s economy.  In recessionary times, a little bit extra in the bank every month can help people plan for fuel cost increases or those unforeseen bills that can crop up from time to time.

Thanks to A2B: Access to Benefits, older people across Northern Ireland are now over £3.5 million a year better off. 

 
Launched in October 2008, the A2B Benefit Calculator at www.a2b.org.uk was the first of its kind in Northern Ireland and enjoyed a highly successful first 16 months helping nearly 5,000 older people find out what their entitlements are, independent of government, before making a claim.
 
Users of the A2B Benefit Calculator have been able to apply for £3,500,000 after learning of their unclaimed entitlement to Pension Credit, Housing Benefit, Rate Relief and Tax Credits.
 
The Assembly’s Finance and Personnel Committee Chair Jennifer McCann MLA said:
 
“Given the current financial difficulties that people are experiencing due to the economic downturn it is now more important than ever that people are accessing the benefits they are entitled to.  Older people in particular have been identified as a group that don’t receive monies they are entitled to and might perhaps feel like they are asking for charity which is not the case.  These are benefits that you are entitled to and I would ask you to use organisations like Access to Benefits to ensure you get your entitlements.”
 
Using A2B’s Benefit Calculator is a bit like giving yourself a health check-up, but for your benefit entitlements.  You do it without the need to give your name, address or National Insurance number to anyone. You or someone you trust can go onto the A2B website and check your entitlements safely in a few easy steps. It’s simple, it’s anonymous and best of all it’s free.
 
After you complete a simple online questionnaire about your individual circumstances, the calculator works out the weekly value of any ‘income-related’ entitlement you may be due. Additionally, it highlights up to 70 other services and benefits that may apply to you and signposts you to organisations that can provide further help in your own postcode area. This is presented in a report which you can then print off or save.
 
Patrick Minne, Chief Executive at A2B said:
 
”I’m delighted to be celebrating this milestone for A2B, for the older people it has helped and for the dozens of community groups we partner with. Their training and hard work has meant we’ve been able to extend the provision of entitlement checks to some of the most isolated and hardest to reach people here.”
 
Simon Hamilton MLA, Chair of the Northern Ireland Assembly’s Social Development Committee, said:
 
“It is fantastic to learn that the efforts of Access to Benefits have ensured that over £3.5 million in unclaimed benefits have been able to be claimed by those entitled to them.  This amazing amount of money is all additional to Northern Ireland and will greatly help our economy during these difficult times as people spend what they have received.  Not only can this money assist the recipient in paying for essentials, but it could even help keep someone else in a job.  This milestone shows that there is sizeable success in continuing to concentrate our efforts on entitlement awareness and I heartily congratulate Access to Benefits for all that they are doing”.
 
 
A2B works closely with many organisations to promote benefit uptake. More than 160 groups have now been trained in how to help people use the A2B Benefit Calculator. These include community development workers, MLA constituency staff and volunteers across Northern Ireland.