Did you know that each year up to £3.5bn of Pension Credit and Housing Benefits go unclaimed by older people? Just look around. You probably know some people who were not aware of the possibility of applying for some allowances until you told them about their existence. And maybe you think that you know everything about the benefits you are entitled to. But how can you be so sure?

There is a tool that will let you find out what you could be owed. This tool is the benefits calculator provided by Age UK. It simply consists of a form that takes around 15 minutes to fill in. Once you have introduced all the required information, the calculator shows you all the benefits and entitlements that you can claim.  These benefits include attendance and carer’s allowances, pension credits, income and council tax support and public transport concessions among others.

This calculator has been designed with elderly people in mind: the questions are clearly asked and the used typography is easy to read. And if it is taking you longer than expected to answer all the questions, you can always save your progress and complete the form at some other time. If you want to try this tool and discover whether you might get some benefits and entitlements, just follow this link: http://www.ageuk.org.uk/money-matters/claiming-benefits/benefits-calculator/.