Pensions Campaign 2010/11

Please find attached a leaflet and poster for the 2010/11 Pensions Campaign which has been developed by the Worcestershire Financial Inclusion Task Group (FITG) as part of the Worcestershire Partnership with financial support from Supporting People and the key support of local housing associations, the Local Pension Service and the Worcestershire Hub.

The campaign goes live on 16 November. We would like to ask you to join with us and support the campaign which will provide a dedicated phone line operated by the Worcestershire Hub which older people and carers can contact.

The aim of the campaign is to improve the uptake of key pensions and carer benefits. If you would like copies of the leaflet to give out to your service users please contact Claire Parry, Joint Working Partnership Manager at DWP on CLAIRE.PARRY@THEPENSIONSERVICE.GSI.GOV.UK and she will arrange for you to receive copies of the leaflet.

We would like to ask you to join us in our prioritisation for this campaign which is aimed at any older person or carer but in the first period 16 November until Christmas we would ask your particular support in reaching out to older people in rural areas. In the second phase from mid January to the end of March 2011, we would like to focus on hard to reach groups and BME communities.

The current Worcestershire Partnership indicator for LI3 shows that we are not as yet meeting the targets for improving the uptake of these key benefits and so working in partnership we hope to increase referrals to the Local Pension Service and hence improve the income of many pensioners across the County.

We will be monitoring the outcomes from the campaign and reporting them back to the partners who have initiated the campaign and to Supporting People.

As well as being offered a referral to the Local Pension Service for a benefits check older residents will be offered a secondary referral to older people’s support services provided by Housing Associations and Age Concern Herefordshire and Worcestershire. The Hub staff will perform the initial screen for both referrals.

Any older person or carer who contacts the Hub through the dedicated phone line can expect that both the Local Pension Service and the older people’s service providers will contact the customer within 10 working days, and arrange a visit within 28 working days.

We will be issuing a press release early next week.

If you have an interest in financial inclusion work and would like to join with other partners from across the County to address our three objectives please let me know and I will add you to the circulation list.

The current objectives of the FITG are to:

• Improve access to affordable credit working with the Worcestershire Credit Union and the My Home Finance initiative

• Improve access to information and debt advice services
• Improve the take up of key benefits.

If you have any questions or queries please do not hesitate to contact me.

Kate Gallant
Community Investment Officer
Rooftop Housing Group Limited
Phone: 01386 420800 Extension 116
Mobile: 07854 717424
Email: kate.gallant@rooftopgroup.org
Rooftop Housing Group Limited


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