Winter Fuel Payments used to be available to everyone over state pension age, but now around 10 million older people will miss out after Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced she was changing the eligibility rules.
Now, pensioners have to be over pension age and be in receipt of one of the following means-tested benefits:
- Pension Credit
- Universal Credit
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
- Income Support
- Child Tax Credit
- Working Tax Credit
Following the Winter Fuel Payment announcement Pension Credit applications have soared, with 150,000 applications in the 16 weeks since the moves were revealed on July 29.
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There are some delays processing the applications, but the Government continues to urge pensioners to check if they are eligible for Pension Credit.
Those who apply before December 21 will receive backdated payments of both pension credit and the winter fuel allowance, and the Department for Work and Pensions has deployed 500 extra staff to handle claims for the benefit.
A petition to reinstate the payment as a universal benefit has now been signed by almost 50,000 people. It was started by by Michael Brian Anderson, who says: “We want the Government to restore the Winter Fuel Payment to how it was paid last winter immediately. We are concerned that pensioners could die if MPs do not act, and that the NHS could be under more pressure.”
In a written response to the petition, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said: “The Government has no plans to reverse the means testing of the Winter Fuel Payment but is focusing on increasing Pension Credit take-up to ensure all eligible pensioners continue to receive support.”
