MILLIONS of households could be missing out on at least £10,000 worth of benefits, shocking new figures have revealed.

According to the Government's latest data on benefits, eligible households collectively failed to claim over £10billion worth of benefits in the 2016/17 financial year.

It found that 1.3million households failed to claim pension credit - meaning they missed out £2,500 - or a collective £3.5billion across Great Britain.

Another 1.3million families failed to sign up for housing benefit - losing out on £3,000 - or a collective £4.2billion.

While a further half a million who were eligible for income support or employment support allowance missed out on £4,500 - amounting to a collective £2.4billion.

What's worse, is that the Government's figures only take into account four of the main benefits, which means the overall amount people are missing out on could be even higher.

Poverty charity, Turn2us, urges people to check if they're eligible for benefits now.

Its head of communications, Pritie Billimoria, said: “At a time when a rising number of people are living poverty, it is incredibly worrying to see over £10billion of benefits are left unclaimed.

“Welfare benefits are a safety net and too many people are slipping through.

“People all too often presume they’re getting all the financial support available or that they’re not entitled to anything and many also fear that their claim will be rejected.

“It can be difficult to know where to turn for support and daunting to ask for help. But anyone on a low income needs to regularly check that they’re getting all the help available to them.”

You can use free online calculators to check if you're missing out on vital support. The Government recommends three calculators from Policy in Practice, Turn2us, and Entitledto.

The Government's report says take-up of benefits may be affected by factors such as the attractiveness of the benefit, lack of awareness of the benefit or application procedure, lack of awareness of entitlement, and the perceived stigma of receiving a benefit or other factors.

The Sun has asked the Department for Work and Pensions to comment and we will update this story if it does.