Organisations join forces to urge Chancellor to reconsider Winter Fuel Payment decision
The Centre for Ageing Better has joined more than 20 organisations in signing a letter to Rachel Reeves calling on the UK government to halt the Winter Fuel Payment change announced this week.
Charities are warning the move risks putting more older people’s lives at risk this winter and are calling on the government to find ways to mitigate the damage.
Twenty-two charities have sent an open letter to the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, calling on her to urgently review the change to the Winter Fuel Payment for older people.
The change announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on Monday mean that people aged 66 and over who don’t receive Pension Credit or a small number of other means-tested benefits, will no longer receive automatic annual payments of between £100 and £300 to help with energy costs through the winter.
Charities are concerned that many older people on low incomes who rely on the payments may miss out this winter.
Pension Credit is a form of financial support which ‘tops-up’ the income of people over State Pension age who fall below an income threshold of £218.15 for a single person and £332.95 for a couple.
Many of those eligible could also unlock additional benefits worth thousands a year such as the Warm Home Discount, a free TV licence, Council Tax Reduction and free NHS dental treatment.
Fewer than two in three people eligible for Pension Credit currently take-up the benefit, meaning up to 1.2 million older people who are eligible will now miss out on this additional support. Many more are just above the level of eligibility for Pension Credit but will struggle to pay their energy bills this winter.
The Centre for Ageing Better has put its name to an open letter initiated by Independent Age, calling on the Chancellor of the Exchequer to reconsider her proposals.
In the letter, the organisations say:
“Linking the qualification of the Winter Fuel Payment to whether an older person receives Pension Credit could mean up to 1.2 million older people on low incomes miss out on even more vital financial support.
“As a result, many of them will inevitably be pushed further into poverty.
“Restricting the Winter Fuel Payment this autumn does not give the UK Government time to significantly boost Pension Credit take-up to a level that would reduce some of the side-effects of this measure. It will leave many older people on low incomes facing a cold and dangerous winter.”
Dr Carole Easton OBE, Chief Executive at the Centre for Ageing Better, said:
"From this winter, pensioners will only get the winter fuel payment if they are in receipt of another benefit, such as Pension Credit.
“But we know that fewer than two in three people who are entitled to pension credit, and who it could make a huge difference to, claim it.
"The Winter Fuel Payment is particularly important, as older people are more likely to live in cold and poor-quality homes and are more vulnerable to the health impacts of cold.
"The underclaiming of Pension Credit shows that when benefits are neither universal nor automated, it is often those who need it most who are least likely to claim and therefore the most likely to miss out.
"However, if the government is going down this route, it makes it more important than ever that they develop clear targets to improve the uptake of Pension Credit, including exploring making it an automatic payment.
"The government also needs to deliver accessible and affordable ways to support older people to fix their cold and dangerous homes, including through insulation and raised efficiency standards, to reduce the necessity of winter fuel payments."
If you wanted to voice your concerns about the proposals, we can suggest the following options:
Independent Age’s write to your MP template
To apply for Pension Credit, visit here, or for further advice and information, visit either the Independent Age website here or call their free helpline on 0800 319 6789 during office hours.
