A new $1 million grant will make it possible for the Pension Action Center at UMass Boston to continue providing free pension legal counseling to people across New England for the next five years.

The grant was made by the Administration for Community Living of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, a long-time supporter of the center. The funds were awarded to the New England Pension Assistance Project, which is operated by the center.

The PAC is the only source of free pension counseling in each of the six New England states. It also provides counseling to retirees and survivors in Illinois, work that is not funded by the new grant.

“We thank the Administration for Community Living for its ongoing support for our work,” said new PAC Director Anna-Marie Tabor. “This grant is essential for the Pension Action Center to continue helping New England retirees find and secure the benefits they have earned.

“I also want to express my appreciation to recently retired PAC Director Jeanne Medeiros and to Louise Cataldo, the center’s program coordinator, for their work securing this new five-year grant,” Tabor said.

The Pension Action Center, founded in 1994, has helped more than 7,800 New England clients recover benefits valued at more than $55 million. The recoveries represent a return of more than $10 for every dollar of funding it received.

In addition to recovering benefits, the center has been the trusted expert for answering questions on retirement income benefits for workers, retirees and their families in New England.

The Pension Action Center is part of the McCormack Graduate School’s Gerontology Institute.