Last Updated on February 27, 2024

Over 3,500 residents of a national housing and care provider have been supported to gain an average income boost of £8,000 each. Residents have gained an estimated combined total of more than £6m over the financial year.

Through Be Wise, Anchor – England’s largest not-for-profit provider of housing and care for people in later life – offers a free and impartial financial inclusion service, supporting residents to maximise their income through advice on benefits, energy bills, budgeting, income and expenditure, basic debt management advice and easing cost-of-living pressures.

A Resident Support Fund available through Anchor’s Be Wise service has also helped residents to buy food, pay energy bills and purchase home essentials, such as carpets and white goods.

Gordon, an Anchor resident from Nottingham, was struggling with the cost of living on a low income. He said, ‘I was receiving a state retirement pension of £184 per week and a small private pension of £18 per week. I contacted Be Wise and they awarded me £100 towards my energy costs and £60 towards food from the Resident Support Fund. My housing benefit and Council Tax support had stopped, and I was fearful I would lose my home. Be Wise stepped in and helped me.

‘They completed a full benefit check and made an application on my behalf for Attendance Allowance, which was awarded at the lower rate of £68.10 per week, and in addition this meant I received Pension Credit of £27 per week, which also led to the cost-of-living payment of £300 and the Warm Home Discount payment of £150.

‘My Housing Benefit and Council Tax support were reinstated back to when they stopped at full eligibility. I now feel financially comfortable compared to when I started my journey.

‘I am so grateful to Be Wise for changing my life and helping me when I was in need. I could not have done it without them.’

Sam Scotcher, Financial Inclusion Manager at Anchor, added, ‘Gordon is just one of many examples of the Anchor residents we have supported through Be Wise. We are helping residents with a wide variety of their needs. Another resident had an injury at work, his employer had stopped paying him, he needed to claim benefits but had no IT skills or an email address. Through Anchor’s Be Wise service we were able to support him to make a claim for Universal Credit over the phone and provided him with food vouchers until his payments came through. We are currently assisting him with appealing his Personal Independent Payment which was initially rejected.

‘Anchor’s Be Wise service is free to all residents and its purpose is to assist those who are experiencing periods of hardship and to provide support where needed and to maximise their income.

‘We are a very diverse team, with colleagues from different ethnicities, faiths, age groups, gender and sexuality and those who speak different languages which enables us to reach a wide range of people and tailor our services to meet individual people’s needs.

‘Being a diverse team has hugely contributed to the success of the Be Wise team and helping residents save nearly £6 million since April 2024 enabling more people to enjoy later life.’

Anchor’s Be Wise service is part of its range of Be Well services, which provide residents with a wide variety of support, including financial and digital inclusion, physical activity and tackling loneliness.

In other news, Government has launched its new Disability Action Plan, aiming to make the UK the most accessible place in the world for disabled people.