Up to 760,000 families who were entitled to receive pension credit did not claim it in the financial year ending in 2023, according to Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) figures. This was a decrease compared with the financial year ending in 2022, when up to 870,000 families who were entitled did not claim. Claims for pension credit have shown signs of a jump recently, as it has become linked to winter fuel payments. Figures released in September showed a rise in pension credit claims in the weeks after the Government announced restrictions on who would receive winter fuel payments. This started after July 29, when Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the winter fuel allowance for pensioners would be limited to only those claiming pension credit or other means-tested benefits. Ms Reeves announced the squeeze as part of a series of measures aimed at filling what she called a £22 billion “black hole” in the public finances. It is expected to reduce the number of pensioners in receipt of the up to £300 payment by 10 million, from 11.4 million to 1.5 million. Up to £1.5 billion of available pension credit went unclaimed in the financial year ending 2023, a decrease...