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Pension credit provides people with extra money to help with living costs if they are over pension state age and on a low income. It can also help with housing costs such as rent or service charges.

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It tops up weekly incomes to £182.60 for single people or £278.70 for partners and some may get extra if they have other responsibilities and costs.

Around more than 620 people in Sheffield are missing out on pension credit worth up to £3,300 per year which aims to help with living costs.

Policy in Practice – a social policy software and analytics company working with councils, government, housing providers and community organisations – estimated there was £17.3 million worth of credit unclaimed in Sheffield.

It said calculations were based on analysis of February 2022 StatXplore data, which shows figures from the Department for Work and Pensions, and that it could even be higher.

Guy Opperman, former secretary of state for pensions, said: “We’re going all out to promote pension credit, knowing how important this extra support, worth on average more than £3,300 per year, could be for pensioners across the country.

“We are calling on everyone with retired family, friends and loved ones to check in with them and see if they could be eligible.”

How to claim pension credit

Applications can be started up to four months before someone reaches state pension age and apply any time after. It can be backdated by three months.

Pensioners can apply either online, over the phone, or by post.

It will be administered by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

The DWP will ask for information such as national insurance number and about income, savings and investments.

Pensioners will also need their bank account details. Depending on how they apply, they may also be asked for bank or building society name, sort code and account number.

The online application form and details about where to post an application and how to claim over the phone can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/pension-credit/how-to-claim

Pension credit calculator

The government’s pension credit calculator, which helps people work out how much they could be entitled to, can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/pension-credit-calculator

Cost of living: Sheffielders sitting on £17.3 million of unclaimed pension credit – here is how to claim it