My father has many health issues, and has been able to claim disability allowance. Since my mother passed away, he's been living alone, as we also live overseas. It was a very difficult time. However, on a trip back to the UK, I made an appointment to go along with him to the Citizen's Advice. They were extremely helpful and informative with regards to what he could claim, even offering help with providing forms, and helping to fill them out. After the initial concerns about how he would manage, he's now fairly well provided for, and is able to live quite comfortably. Please do try to arrange for either yourself, or someone else, to go along with them, as there is so much information provided that it can all be a little overwhelming. My dad does own his own house, and has a VERY small personal pension, although he doesn't have much in the way of savings, but with the help of all the other little extras he is entitled to claim, he no longer needs to worry about how he will manage. As the previous poster said, too many elderly people do not claim what they are entitled to, and if they've worked, and paid into the system all their lives, they need to be taken care of when they need help.