Are you missing out on a share of £3bn?

Pride, fear and loathing of being stigmatised still inhibits elderly people from drawing their welfare benefits. Rising council tax bills are a major financial worry for pension­ers, and yet council tax benefit remains the most unclaimed benefit of all, with eligible pensioners missing out on some £870m in state help.

Critics say means-tested benefits still carry a stigma which discourages the elderly from applying. Others say many pensioners are simply unaware that they can claim. According to charity Age Concern, nearly two million older people are missing out on council tax benefit — and this could cut the average pensioner's bill by £470 a year.

Despite high levels of pensioner poverty, older people are more likely than any other group to miss out on cash help from the state. The latest figures published by the Department of Work and Pensions show that £2.9bn in unclaimed benefits is languishing in government coffers.

Much of this cash pile could be in pensioners' purses after Age Concern's annual drive to encourage older people across the country to claim the money which is rightfully theirs. The charity's Your Rights Week kicked off yesterday and will last until April 15.

With new, higher pension and benefit rates now coming in to force, it is more important than ever for older people to make their claim.

Elderly people sometimes mistakenly assume that if they apply for one benefit, welfare officers will automatically direct them to all the other benefits that they may be entitled to.

Pension credit, housing benefit and attendance allowance are some of the other benefits available to older people, but often left unclaimed. The current benefits system is almost impossible to access fully without some specialist knowledge.

The solution is simple; just pop into your local Age Concern branch where specially trained advisers will ensure that you are claiming all the welfare benefits and social security allowances to which you are entitled.

According to the government's own statistics, one in four pensioners eligible for pension credits have still not claimed their share and three out of 10 people do not bother to claim council tax benefit (CTB).

CTB can automatically be backdated for up to 52 weeks if you are 60 or over, provided you can show that your claim is legitimate. And new rules mean that once a claim for council tax benefit or housing benefit has been made, this does not have to be renewed every year.

Ask Lillian Edwards, 85, who after her husband died, decided to become a volunteer at her local Age Concern branch in Wilmslow, Cheshire. Only then did she discover that she was not claiming a host of benefits and allowances that she was due.

Firstly, she was able to top up her basic state pension by around £65 a week, through pension credit. She found that she was also eligible for attendance allowance worth £60.60 a week. Mrs Edwards' claim for pension credit also triggered a 100% rebate on her council tax, saving her around £710 a year, plus housing benefit that cut her rent by £60 a week.

The message could not be clearer. Anyone aged 60 or above who finds themselves financially stretched to meet their basic commitments should put in a claim for pension credit.

Even pensioners who own their homes and with an income above the minimum threshold, may still qualify for some extra help. There is a 12-month backdating provision, so many new claimants could be in line for a lump sum payment, averaging around £1,000.

Another largely unclaimed benefit is attendance allowance, for people who are aged 65 or over and who have some ailment or disability. Government estimates indicate that between 40% and 60% of pensioners entitled to attendance allowance are not drawing the benefit.

It does not have to be a really severe disability; anyone aged 65 and over who needs help with personal care, say, with dressing, washing or moving around the home, is entitled to claim a weekly allowance. The DWP says that at the last count 70% of recipients were women, drawing an average of £49 a week.

If you are looking after a severely disabled person for at least 35 hours a week, you could get carer's allowance (which was called invalid care allowance before April 2003). Of the 691,000 people currently entitled to the allowance, 258,000 of them have not yet filed a claim for this allowance worth £45.54 a week, on average.

Throughout next week, local Age Concern branches will be taking the Your Rights Week message into their communities, running a range of activities to get cash into pensioners' pockets.

Information on benefits can also be downloaded from ageconcern.org.uk Alternatively, call Age Concern's Information Line on 0800-009966.

Age Concern has also updated its guide to benefits for older people. The book provides clear, up-to-date information on the array of different benefits available, with advice on how and where to claim.

To order a copy priced £5.99 (plus £1.99 p&p), ring Age Concern Books (0870-442-2120).