The private sector could do a lot more to get Government money into the hands of its clients - here's how.

1. 5 ways the private sector can boost pension credit
• “Children care” – parental issues for “mid-lifers”
• “Small pots can jeopardize big benefits”
• “Housing a trigger for pension credit”
• “Annuities designed for individuals not households”
• “The nudge from a pension dashboard”

2. “Children care!” – tweaking the midlife MOT
To date MOT has served a savings agenda
“Wealth, work and well-being” for the saver – but concern may be for the parent
Parents in retirement rely on children for help on pensions and benefits
MOT could be partially re-purposed to help children with parent’s problems
My Mum needed a lot of help
to understand what she could
and couldn’t claim: most of her
worries were about the upkeep
of her house.
Her children were
able to help her

3. “Small pots can jeopardise pension credit”
Deemed income from small pots can invalidate a PC claim
High numbers of the financially vulnerable savers with minimal AE pots have
incomplete NI histories
Post pension freedoms – these people can legitimately spend their pots prior to SPA
Such people need to know their state pension forecast and their options
We can provide guidance, even if the messaging is complex?
The onus is on everyone providing support to those over 55.
Trevor has a number of pots that could stop him
getting pension credit when he get to 67

4. “Housing a trigger for pension credit”
Inquiries for equity release and lifetime mortgages triggered
by lack of income
Pensions are becoming landlords as illiquids back annuities
and DC defaults
Pension credit resolves many housing issues rent- council tax
– heating.
As with Policy in Practice’s initiatives; customer knowledge
flags PC opportunities
George asked for a loan – but he found he was
entitled to pension credit which was better.

5. “Annuities designed for individuals not
households”
Most annuities have been purchased on a single life
When annuitant dies , the household may qualify for pension credit
Many of the bereaved find it hard to claim
Can insurers do more?
Can occupational schemes do more?
Li Na came married a British lawyer
in the 1990s; she’s always been
comfortably off – till now

6. “The nudge from a dashboard”
Dashboards identify “household income for PC purposes
Easy to integrate a nudge to a PC calculator
Solutions .
Potential to pre-populate application forms
Opportunity to auto-underwrite (in time)
Ken and Mary are deeply in love but short on retirement
income

7. Key takeaways
Private pension providers, MaPs and Fintech
can identify opportunities for policyholders and
members to claim Pension Credit
We’ve identified 5 potential triggers – you may
spot many more
The consumer and fiduciary duty are aligned in
improving pension outcomes
The private sector can make a tangible
difference to PC participation rates and (in
time) the automation of approvals.

8. Case study:
Pension Credit take-up
Policy in Practice
2022

9. The potential for take-up goes beyond pension credit
www.policyinpractice.co.uk
“We’ve never looked back. The Better Off Calculator is an essential tool to
navigate customers through the cost of living crisis.”
Spencer Hough, Anglian Water

10. How we increase Pension Credit take-up
Our LIFT platform pools administrative data and performs
advanced analytics to identify people who are struggling
financially, and missing out on support
We can flag people missing out on Pension Credit and other
benefits
Local authorities can then engage these households through
locally run targeted engagement campaigns
www.policyinpractice.co.uk

11. Targeted campaigns deliver results:
● Islington confirmed take-up among 268
people, from 689 identified within
three months (39%)
● Folkestone and Hythe saw 44 people
(from 98) (44%) take-up pension credit
within three months, with similar
success in Gravesham
The average gain per household is £2,700
per annum. This rises if passported support
such as free television licenses or other
benefits, such as reduced long term care
costs, are factored in
The average gain per household is £2,700
www.policyinpractice.co.uk

12. The benefit goes beyond its financial impact
www.policyinpractice.co.uk
Tackling social isolation
“I was referred to Age UK, they helped with my forms and they really listened”
Islington resident
Proactive engagement
“I didn’t know how I was going to pay my gas bill, I really needed this”
Kent resident

13. A national campaign would yield £350m
Based on analysis of 33 councils we estimate that Housing Benefit data can
identify between 60,000 to 250,000 pensioners missing out nationwide
Assuming a one in three take up rate we could help between 20,000 to
85,000 pensioners to take-up the benefit within six months
The impact nationally would range between an extra £60m to £230m in
annual income to the worst off pensioner households
Factoring in life expectancy and other benefits such as television licenses,
the campaign’s lifetime impact would be £350m to £1.5bn
www.policyinpractice.co.uk

14. DWP recently ran a high profile Pension Credit day of
awareness. Administrative data could measure (and
improve) its impact.
The typical take-up rate from a letter campaign is well
below 5%. The highest take-up rate in a national
campaign run in 2010/11 was 13.1% (but these
households had help from a DWP officer to help with the
claims)
A local approach, informed by LIFT analytics and
behavioural insights, and backed by personalised support
where needed, can be scaled nationally.
Scaling an approach nationally
www.policyinpractice.co.uk

15. People trust local support, and vulnerable people often need help completing
applications. They already applying for Housing Benefit via the council, so their details
are known. Councils can offer support directly or through trusted partners
1. Use Housing Benefit data to identify people eligible for but not claiming Pension
Credit
2. Send a letter or a text letting them know and directing them to apply or call a
helpline
3. Call non respondents and refer them to local support if further help or guidance is
needed
4. Use the engagement to ‘make every contact count’ and tackle wider social issues
such as anxiety and loneliness
This approach encourages the public sector to be data led, scale proven and cost
effective approaches, and work in a proactive and preventative way
A locality approach through councils works
www.policyinpractice.co.uk

16. Corporates can offer support too
Pension Credit can be assessed using financial services data
too. The criteria is relatively straightforward
● Single / couple
● Income level / source of income
● Savings
Advanced policy analytics can identifiy much more in lost
income and targets support based on financial resilience.
www.policyinpractice.co.uk