Update: Winter Fuel Allowance > Pension Credit uptake

On the 29th July, Chancellor Rachel Reeves controversially announced that the Winter Fuel Allowance would be cut this autumn, with only those in receipt of Pension Credit or other means tested benefits now eligible to receive this payment. The Department for Work and Pensions recently disclosed a surge of 74,400 Pension Credit applications in the eight weeks following the Chancellors announcement. Public outcry and concern, alongside political jousting over budgetary black holes, a contentious parliamentary vote, union backlash and strong opposition from leading charities such as Age UK, has filled the air ever since.

Against this backdrop, housing leaders like George Bailey-Allen, and?Carol. Houlston have been busy understanding what this means for Platform customers and taking affirmative action to ensure we are able to offer support via the exceptional work of the Successful Tenancies team and Wellbeing Fund service provisions.

So far this year, Platform has supported customers to secure almost ￡100,000 in unclaimed Pension Credit income… and we’re not stopping there!

So how have we done this?

o??Using DATA to correlate key information to build out a person and housing profile.

o??Using TECH to optimise awareness: teaching our chatbot new information, updating hold messages on inbound calls, adding banners and alerts against specific customer records in our recently updated Dynamics system.

o??Developing a targeted COMMS package; using a variety of literature and contact channels so colleagues and customers know that we are aware of these changes, and more importantly -how we can help.

o??Supporting our PEOPLE so they can maximise uptake via in-person surgeries at schemes and other community drop in events. Working together to ensure we can meet the increasing demand but still maintain that personal touch.

I’m keen to learn what others within the sector are doing to support customers that might be affected by these changes, why not share your activity in the comments below.