People living in Greater Manchester are being encouraged to top up their weekly income by applying for a multi-million-pound pot of unclaimed government funds.

Latest figures released from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, along with Greater Manchester Housing Providers, suggests as many as 43,000 local residents could be eligible to benefit from £76 million of unclaimed Pension Credit.

Housing providers across the city region are stepping-up efforts to ensure more eligible pensioners don’t miss out on the support they are owed by working with local communities to encourage and help Pension Credit applications.

While 73,000 people across the region currently use Pension Credit to top up their weekly budget and reduce daily household costs, around one in three pensioners around Greater Manchester aren’t accessing the support available to them, with single women living alone the least likely to claim for their support.

While the issue is most pressing for people living in the city centre, residents in all Greater Manchester’s boroughs are missing out on an average of £1,775 of support. This support ranges from topping up pension income to additional benefits such as a free television licences, council tax discounts, free NHS dental treatment and contributions to glasses prescriptions.

To apply to claim Pension Credit, Manchester residents can visit www.gov.uk/pension-credit, speak to the local authority they pay council tax too, or speak with their social housing provider.