Vulnerable people are missing out on benefits because they are being directed to online calculators they cannot use, a charity has said.
Many are entitled to financial support but rarely have access to face-to-face advisers to help them claim, according to the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute, leaving an estimated £24m in support unclaimed each year.
One woman has told the how her life and home were saved because someone sat down with her and her paperwork for hours.
But Helen Fisher, who now runs advice services herself, said she feared people were now being sent to online services that left them confused and missing out when their finances were already severely stretched.
“It means they will get into further debt and more and more brown envelopes will come through the door,” she said.
Helen, now aged 69, had to give up work to look after her husband, Ken, who had suffered a stroke.
The family soon found they were falling behind on payments and were under threat of having their home repossessed.
“I was at the end of the road as I could not afford to feed Ken and [daughter] Jemma and to heat our home,” she said.
“We had bailiffs wanting council tax. The energy was about to be disconnected. I could not afford petrol for the car to take Ken to medical appointments.”
Helen was contemplating suicide, but it was only when an adviser came to her home to do a comprehensive benefits check that their life was turned around.
The family were entitled to a host of benefits, grants and charitable assistance. Their home was saved, and an award of pension credit – in particular – provided a gateway to other support.
That continued even after Ken died in 2010, at the age of 62.
Now Helen helps others in Liverpool who “are too busy caring for someone to juggle all these things”.
But she has noticed that many people with mental health difficulties face a lack of personalised, face-to-face advice despite needing “hand-holding and guiding” as they fill in forms and look at their finances.
“Generally, I put them on the right track. Their anxiety is alleviated and gradually they gain the confidence to manage these matters by themselves,” she said.
In its report published on Wednesday, the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute – a charity set up by Money Saving Expert founder Martin Lewis – said that an estimated £24m of financial support went unclaimed every year.
It suggested:
- Many vulnerable people were unaware support was available
- Online benefits calculators were difficult for many people with mental health conditions to use, owing to symptoms including difficulty concentrating and trouble processing complex information
- Limited funding meant debt advice services were often overstretched and varied in different parts of the country
The charity has called for a more coordinated strategy, for personalised advice to be stepped up and banks and providers of other essential services to refer customers for support more often.
Helen Undy, chief executive of the institute, said: “It is alarming that in the midst of a cost of living crisis, so many people with serious financial and mental health problems are missing out on this vital support to boost their income.
“People tell us that this support has been lifesaving when they have been dealing with really severe financial and mental health problems. It is unacceptable that the way these services are funded means that many people miss out because the support they need isn’t available in their areas.”
The Money and Pensions Service, which is government-sponsored and funds services through a levy on the financial services industry, said debt advice it had funded identified £84m to go to people in 2024-25.
“We are investing significantly into debt advice services in England, and we will continue to work with debt advice providers to ensure that people in debt can achieve a better financial future,” said Christy McAleese, head of debt policy at the service.