Improving Means‐Tested Benefits Uptake in Later Life: Understanding Barriers and Motivators Through the Lens of Administrative Burden Theory

ABSTRACT Despite clear eligibility criteria, many older adults do not claim available financial and social benefits. Understanding the reasons behind low uptake is essential for designing more accessible and acceptable support systems. Guided by administrative burden theory, this study investigates why older individuals may be reluctant to seek support and explores factors that facilitate engagement with eligible benefits. A qualitative design was employed, involving three focus group discussions with 25 participants aged 50 and above living in Yorkshire, United Kingdom. Participants were recruited through community networks, and discussions were analysed through thematic analysis. The findings reveal psychological costs of generational pride, perceived injustice and scepticism, as well as learning and compliance costs of institutional inaccessibility as the barriers to uptake. The findings also illuminate streamlined bureaucratic processes, organisational mediation, and social support as important motivators of benefits engagement. The findings carry important policy implications, particularly for designing welfare systems that are more accessible, relationally responsive, and capable of reducing psychological barriers that currently discourage benefit uptake among older people.