Pensioners urged to claim as winter fuel support cut

Hundreds of thousands of pensioners have been urged to claim a pension top-up that will enable them to beat government cuts in energy bill support.

An estimated 880,000 low-income pensioner households eligible for pension credit currently fail to claim it and a deadline is approaching.

The government says it is worth an average of £3,900 a year, but it also a gateway to other financial support such as winter fuel payments.

Ministers will cut this help with fuel bills for 10 million pensioners in England and Wales this autumn, but not for those on pension credit or other means-tested benefits.

The policy is expected to reduce the number of pensioners who receive the winter fuel payment from 11.4 million to 1.5 million, saving the Treasury £1.4bn this financial year. The payment is a devolved matter in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said the new Labour government had been forced to take "difficult decisions".

"But I am determined to ensure low-income pensioners are supported," she said.

However, Conservative Laura Trott, shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, claimed the government was "absurdly trying to claim it is committed to pensioners".

"Instead of desperately trying to mitigate the impact of their own decisions, the chancellor should come clean and publish the internal impact assessment so the public can truly see the damage of this policy," she added.

In July, Chancellor Rachel Reeves claimed a public spending audit she commissioned from Treasury officials revealed an "unforgivable" economic legacy she had been left.

That prompted a series of decisions designed to reduce spending, including the scaling back of the winter fuel payment which is worth between £100 and £300 for pensioner households each winter.

Pensioners whose weekly income is below £218.15 for a single person or £332.95 for a couple should check to see if they could be eligible for pension credit.

On top of the benefit, it is a gateway to support with housing costs, council tax, the TV licence, and the winter fuel payment worth up to £300.

The government’s new pension credit awareness drive will help identify households not claiming the benefit, and encourage them to apply by 21 December.

That is the final date for making a backdated claim for pension credit, in order to receive the winter fuel payment.

About 1.4 million pensioners already receive pension credit but up to an estimated 880,000 households eligible for the support fail to claim.

Many incorrectly believe they are not entitled, have been ruled out owing to savings, or say they do not like to accept what they regard as handouts.