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Thousands of people could be able to get free help with Attendance Allowance claim

2oldcodgers

A charity is running free workshops intended to help with the process of claiming state pension age benefits.

It could be useful to people completing claim forms for benefits such as Attendance Allowance and people can attend whether they’re claiming for themselves or on behalf of someone else.

Age Scotland said the one-hour “Attendance Allowance: Completing the form” workshop can provide "information, strategies and tips" to make the process "more simple and less daunting".

The sessions are intended to raise awareness of common benefits that support older people, including Pension Credit, Attendance Allowance, Carer’s Allowance, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction.

There are around 1.07 million people of state pension age in Scotland, including 120,000 households who are eligible for Pension Credit but not claiming it.

I wonder if this novel idea will catch on in England?

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Comments

Jimm_Alumni

I know MacMillan helped my grandad apply for a lot of benefits he was missing after he got diagnosed with stomach cancer (he survived and is still going the tough cookie). I'm honestly quite surprised a charity hasn't begun doing it generally outside of the internet. Or, at least if they have done I haven't seen it advertised anywhere. Many websites such as Turn2Us do a good job of letting you find out what benefits you're eligible for online, but many older people are not as internet or tech savvy.

I think it should also be aimed at younger people too, so many people leave school or university having no idea what they are entitled to.

chiarieds

I'd also add likely Citizens Advice would be able to help. They also have several informative pages online about AA: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/attendance-allowance/

Jimm_Alumni

There's lot's of place to get help but I wonder how many charities run actual in-person workshops to help people fill out the forms like what Age Scotland is doing.

I can see Age UK does offer help via an adviser, though it seems to be something you have to book subject to availability (something that puts people off, either due to needing to call or "not wanting to be a bother") rather than an open session/workshop that you can attend. At least my local Age UK does not offer such a workshop after checking.

2oldcodgers

woodbine said:

AGE UK are a great source of help when applying for AA

Errr are they?
Maybe not my local one then.
You have to book many weeks in advance to have a chance of a chat. I know they used to help fill out benefit claim forms and give general advice on what the aged could claim for. They also used to do home visits.
But alas those days are long behind us now.
Not too sure whether the advice they now give is good. They told me that when the 10 year PIP review comes round it would be in my interest to treat the review in a similar way that the original claim form required. People on this site strongly disagreed with that advice. So who can you now believe?

2oldcodgers

chiarieds said:

I'd also add likely Citizens Advice would be able to help. They also have several informative pages online about AA: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/attendance-allowance/

I think people want face to face advice and help in filling out forms not web based advice

poppy123456

2oldcodgers said:

chiarieds said:

I'd also add likely Citizens Advice would be able to help. They also have several informative pages online about AA: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/attendance-allowance/

I think people want face to face advice and help in filling out forms not web based advice

I disagree, there's also a lot of people that hate the thought of anything related to face to face contact.

Jimm_Alumni

Some people prefer face to face. Some don't.

I personally prefer online discussion, though I don't mind telephone or face to face. I know they can be very anxiety-inducing for some though.