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Field
Abstract
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Before
We aim to investigate the effect of notifying individuals who are eligible for but not receiving a welfare benefit about their entitlement through targeted letters. These letters will be sent to low-income pensioners who are entitled to Pension Credit (PC), the UK's key safety net benefit for pensioners. The letters will vary in their content:
a) A basic letter, informing pensioners about PC, how much they are entitled to, and how to claim
b) A letter like (a) which also attempts to reduce stigma by emphasising that most eligible people claim
c) A letter like (a) except with branding from AgeUK, a highly trusted third party, rather than the borough, who may not be trusted
d) A letter like (a) which also emphasises that PC is private, so friends and family will not know the claimant gets it
Eligible non-claimants of PC will be identified using administrative benefits data. They will be randomly sent one of the four above letters. Those receiving allocated to letters (a)-(c) will be sent the letter in January or February 2024. Those allocated to letter (d) will be sent the letter in July or August 2024. This allows them to act as a control group up until that point.
We will investigate the impact of different letters on claiming PC, poverty rates, council tax arrears, and social rent arrears.
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After
We aim to investigate the effect of notifying individuals who are eligible for but not receiving a welfare benefit about their entitlement through targeted letters. These letters will be sent to low-income pensioners who are entitled to Pension Credit (PC), the UK's key safety net benefit for pensioners. The letters will vary in their content:
a) A basic letter, informing pensioners about PC, how much they are entitled to, and how to claim
b) A letter like (a) which also attempts to reduce stigma by emphasising that most eligible people claim
c) A letter like (a) except with branding from AgeUK, a highly trusted third party, rather than the borough, who may not be trusted
d) A letter like (a) which also emphasises that PC is private, so friends and family will not know the claimant gets it
Eligible non-claimants of PC will be identified using administrative benefits data.
We will randomly assign eligible non-claimants to receive these letters, and will investigate the impact of different letters on claiming PC, poverty rates, council tax arrears, and social rent arrears.
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Field
Trial End Date
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Before
December 31, 2024
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After
April 30, 2025
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Field
Last Published
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Before
April 26, 2024 12:02 PM
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After
September 17, 2024 05:36 AM
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Intervention End Date
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Before
August 31, 2024
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After
October 31, 2024
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Field
Experimental Design (Public)
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Before
RCT with equal sized treatment arms. Letter (d) (described in the intervention field) is sent out 6 months after letters (a) to (c), meaning that recipients act as a control arm until that point. To evaluate letter (d) we will use a matched case-control approach.
We will stratify randomisation by borough and estimated PC eligibility.
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After
RCTs, with stratified randomisation by local authority and estimated PC eligibility.
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Field
Power calculation: Minimum Detectable Effect Size for Main Outcomes
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Before
When comparing the impact of the standard letter (A) vs. control, we will have 99.9% power at the 5% significance level to detect a 20% effect (that is, a 20ppt difference in take-up).
When comparing the impact of the stigma or trust letter (B or C) vs. the standard letter (A), we will have 88% power at the 5% significance level to detect a 4% effect.
When comparing the impact of the privacy letter (D) vs. the standard letter (A), we will have 80% power at the 5% significance level to detect a 4% effect.
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After
When comparing the impact of the standard letter (A) vs. control, we will have 99.9% power at the 5% significance level to detect a 20% effect (that is, a 20ppt difference in take-up).
When comparing the impact of the stigma or trust letter (B or C) vs. the standard letter (A), we will have 88% power at the 5% significance level to detect a 4% effect.
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Field
Intervention (Hidden)
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Before
We will send letters that inform recipients about their eligibility to Pension Credit (PC). The letters will vary in their content:
a) A basic letter, informing pensioners about PC, how much they are entitled to, and how to claim
b) A letter like (a) which also attempts to reduce stigma by emphasising that most eligible people claim
c) A letter like (a) except with branding from AgeUK, a highly trusted third party, rather than the borough, who may not be trusted
d) A letter like (a) which also emphasises that PC is private, so friends and family will not know the claimant gets it
Those receiving allocated to letters (a)-(c) will be sent the letter in February 2024. In 15 local authoriites, those allocated to letter (d) will be sent the letter in August 2024. In 4 local authorities those allocated to letter (d) will be sent the letter in February 2024.
The letters will specify the amount that recipients are (thought to be) entitled to. This will be rounded up to the nearest £500 per year (e.g. "You are entitled to up to £2,500 per year")
These letters will be sent in participating London boroughs (19)
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After
We will send letters that inform recipients about their eligibility to Pension Credit (PC). The letters will vary in their content:
a) A basic letter, informing pensioners about PC, how much they are entitled to, and how to claim
b) A letter like (a) which also attempts to reduce stigma by emphasising that most eligible people claim
c) A letter like (a) except with branding from AgeUK, a highly trusted third party, rather than the borough, who may not be trusted
d) A letter like (a) which also emphasises that PC is private, so friends and family will not know the claimant gets it
In February 2024, the sample of eligible non-recipients will be randomly and equally split into four groups. In 15 local authorities, one group will receive no letter and the other three will receive one of letters a, b, or c. In four local authorities, all four groups will receive a letter, equally split between letters a, b, c and d. In October 2024, we will draw a sample again of eligible non-claimants (including those originally assigned to the "no letter" group, and those who received a letter but did not claim, and those who have become newly eligible). We will randomly send half of them letter a, and half of them letter d.
The letters will specify the amount that recipients are (thought to be) entitled to. This will be rounded up to the nearest £500 per year (e.g. "You are entitled to up to £2,500 per year")
These letters will be sent in participating London boroughs (19)
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