MILLIONS of poverty- hit pensioners are still not claiming cash that is rightfully theirs.

An estimated 1.7m OAPs around the country are missing out on £770m in council tax benefits alone.

Experts fear that figure could just be the tip of the iceberg, with many other financial entitlements left untouched.

The Government is to repeat its call for older people to boost their income by hundreds of pounds a year.

Your Rights Week - starting tomorrow - will target more than 2m pensioners now living in poverty and entitled to payments such as pension credits, housing benefit, council tax benefit or a host of others.

Janet Cocker, information and advice manager at Age Concern Kirklees commented: "Claiming benefits doesn't have to be difficult. It can make a real difference to people's lives."

Staff from the Pension Service will be holding a drop-in session next Tuesday.

It will be at Huddersfield's Age Concern offices in Cross Church Street between 10am and 2pm to offer advice and benefit checks for the over-60s.

Workers and volunteers in the Huddersfield office are always there to give benefits advice and help.

Age Concern holds sessions on Tuesdays at Meltham's Crossroads Centre between 10am and 12.30pm and at Marsden Information Point between 2pm and 4pm.