Women pensioners 'need more help'
Published on : 20/08/2007
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Female pensioners need greater support from the government - as they tend to get the worst deal when it comes to pensions, it has been claimed.
Samuel Heath, a spokesperson for Age Concern claims that there are currently around £4.2 billion worth of income rates and benefits that remain unclaimed by older people - and he says that elderly women need help in claiming their fair share in particular.
"We need to encourage them and make sure they take their benefits - that is one of the key issues and we urge anyone who is on a lower income to phone our information line and get a free benefits check," Mr Heath commented.
"We are particularly worried about women pensioners because they tend to get the worse deal as they tend to have the smaller pensions, so there are lots of women in poverty and lots of issues surrounding women and poverty," he added.
Mr Heath continued by saying that he hoped that the government's pensions bill will improve matters - although he added that most of the changes don't come through till 2012, and more urgent action is required.
