Welfare Benefits Service
Free and confidential for anyone over 50 years of age
During the 2009/10 financial year to date, 100% of clients surveyed said the were ‘highly satisfied’ with the help they received from this service and would recommend us to others.
Through our Welfare Benefits Service we help over 50s claim all the benefits to which they are entitled.
Our service aims to take the stress out of claiming benefits. The Service is in its fifth year and this financial year to date has already helped older people on the Isle of Wight claim almost six hundred and forty thousand pounds.
The Service can:
- Advise you about the benefits to which you may be entitled.
- Help apply for the benefits relevant to you by filling in the forms.
- Support you right through the claims process, up to and including appeals if appropriate.
- Provide home visits - you can visit us by appointment only, or if necessary, we can visit you.
Cost:
This service is provided free of charge.
What to do next?
Please contact us on 01983 525282 or email us.
Please be aware that this service is extremely busy, and there may be a waiting list.
Snapshot
Mr & Mrs X contacted Age Concern Isle of Wight (ACIW) in January 2008. They are frail and struggling to look after each other in terms of their personal care as both are very disabled. They didn’t want any Social Services involvement, other than meals on wheels, but Social Services advised them to contact us about claiming Attendance Allowance (AA).
In February one of our volunteers visited Mr & Mrs X and helped them both to complete AA forms. In March, ACIW was notified that both had been awarded the higher rate of AA, worth £67 a week each. In April we advised them to claim Pension Credit (PC) and assisted them with verifying their savings. As a result they were awarded PC of £107.99 a week.
This means that as a result of our help, Mr & Mrs X’s income has increased by £241.99 a week. Their daughter has told us that this has already made a big difference to their lives because they could afford to take a taxi to St Mary’s hospital on a day that she was working and couldn’t take them.