The budget supermarket has teamed up with the Rothesay Foundation to support pensioners in need across the UK as their budgets continue to be squeezed by the cost-of-living crisis.

The ‘Summer Cheer’ campaign will roll out across 269 stores, in 17 areas. However, only 40,000 vouchers are available, and they are being given out on a first come first served basis.

Am I eligible for a voucher?

To qualify for the £30 voucher, you must be of state pension age, live independently (but not necessarily alone) or with a carer. You must also rely solely on your state pension or other benefits for food and essentials.

You can get more than one voucher per household, for example, if you’re in a couple.

You must also live in one of the following areas:

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• Barnsley
• Birmingham
• Croydon
• Glamorgan
• Glasgow
• Greater Manchester
• Huddersfield
• Lambeth (London)
• Liverpool
• Newcastle North
• Newport
• North Wales
• Sheffield
• Strathclyde
• Sunderland
• West Midlands
• Wirral

These areas have been identified as the places where there are some of the highest numbers of pensioners living in material deprivation in the country.

Financial advice for pensioners

Iceland is providing the vouchers at zero profit, to allow the total fund to be available to as many people who are in need as possible.

The initiative was trialled last December in South London with the ‘Lambeth Winter Cheer’ campaign, which helped almost 2,000 people in need over Christmas.

Along with the vouchers, the campaign will also provide Age UK’s information guide on financial advice following research showing that, despite record levels of poverty, over 770,000 pensioner households are still missing out on Pension Credit payments worth £1.5bn every year.

Richard Walker, managing director of Iceland Foods, said: “Since the launch of the partnership last Christmas, the cost-of-living crisis has taken hold of the UK, and now more than ever, people are struggling to access the food they need. No one should ever have to worry about how they are going to eat or drink, and we hope that the support we can offer across the UK will help pensioners access and enjoy a worry-free meal during this difficult time.”

Addy Loudiadis, of the Rothesay Foundation, said: “We hope our vouchers will provide a small amount of relief to the growing number of older people living in real financial difficulty in the UK. Going forward, we are committed to working with brilliant partners like Iceland and Age UK to help as many pensioners as possible get access to their full benefit allowances.”

Eligible pensioners should call the Summer Cheer hotline on 0800 098 7877 to request their voucher. The telephone line will be open from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, and the application deadline is 16 September.

Once you’ve successfully applied, your voucher will arrive by post within seven days. Vouchers can be used on food and household items, but they can’t be used to buy alcohol and tobacco. All vouchers will expire at 11.59pm on 31 December 2022.