Customers’ experiences of contact with the Pension, Disability and Carers Service

This research was conducted over a six month period with customers of the Pension, Disability and Carers Service (PDCS) in a context of government initiatives to increase levels of support to low income pensioners. This study aimed to provide PDCS with detailed insights into what kinds of ‘trigger’ events encourage pensioners to make contact with PDCS; whether and how they are facilitated in doing so by others with whom they are in touch; what channels of communication they use; how they experience their contact with the service; and what PDCS might do to enhance the effectiveness of their service delivery. The findings from this research are likely also to be relevant to other government departments and organisations with responsibility for delivering services to older people.