A scheme to improve the take-up of benefits among older people across Scotland was launched yesterday by a leading charity.

A scheme to improve the take-up of benefits among older people across Scotland was launched yesterday by a leading charity.

More than £4.5bn worth of benefits is currently lying unclaimed in Britain, according to Age Concern Scotland.

The project, funded by the Scottish Government and the Department of Work and Pensions, is being piloted in Glasgow and Aberdeenshire.

Local organisations for the elderly will be involved in providing free benefit checks and help with form filling.

David Manion, chief executive of Age Concern Scotland, said: "Many older people miss out because they don't realise they are entitled to extra cash, don't know how to claim or feel there is a stigma attached, and would rather make do'. There is currently up to £4.6bn unclaimed in the UK which could be in the pockets of pensioners just by filling in a form."

Launching the pilot, health secretary Nicola Sturgeon said: "In these days of ever-increasing fuel, food and other domestic bills, we must take action to ensure that older people don't miss out on what they are eligible to claim from the state."

She added: "We have a duty to our older citizens. They have earned the right to a decent standard of living in a safe, warm and secure home free from the worry of how the next bill is going to be paid, and the Scottish Government has a responsibility to help people avoid or rise out of poverty."

UK Pensions Minister Mike O'Brien said the elderly were feeling the effect of price rises in their heating bills and at the supermarket.

"We want them to claim all of the benefits they're entitled to - just a few pounds can make all the difference," he said.

The minister added that the process for claiming pension credit, housing benefit and council tax benefit was to be simplified, and if people claimed before October 6, they may be eligible for one year's backdated money.

This came as welcome news to elderly volunteers at Pensioner Action Group East (Page), where the Glasgow scheme was launched.

Among them was retired clippie Margaret Connolly, 74, who said receiving all her entitled benefits made a "huge difference" - particularly while nursing her late husband, Joseph, through cancer. She said: "It was just being able to buy simple extra things like new bedclothes that made the difference."

Mrs Connolly, who is now fighting her own battle against the disease, added: "Not having to cope with the extra worry over money eases the burden of coping with my own health-related matters."

Mary McKean, 73, agreed. It was 11 years ago that Mrs McKean first stepped through the doors of Page, to be told that, up until then, she had not been receiving all her entitled benefits.

The retired tailoress, whose husband William, 83, has Alzheimer's disease, said: "The extra benefits have made a huge impact to our quality of life. But there are so many poor people out there who don't realise what they are entitled to."

According to fellow volunteer Margaret Clarke, 78, misplaced pride often stops many older people seeking benefits. The retired shop assistant said: "It can be a pride thing that stops people applying for their benefits. But they realise that, having worked all their lives, this isn't charity - it is money they are entitled to."

Chairman of Page, Andy Forrester, 69, said employers should do more to inform ageing workers the difficulties they may face as pensioners. "Most people don't really think about retirement until it's upon them," he said. One-in-four retired people live below the poverty line of £151 a week, the same number as when Labour first came to power in 1997, according to the National Pensioners' Convention.

The campaign group said the rising cost of living and continued decline in purchasing power of the basic state pension was pushing increasing numbers of older people into financial difficulties.

The group claimed soaring energy bills meant that up to one-in-three pensioner households are likely to be in fuel poverty, defined as spending more than 10% of income on keeping themselves warm, by the end of the year.