'Disastrous!' Pensioners 'in trouble' as Labour pledges to means-test Winter Fuel Payment
Charities are not happy about the Winter Fuel Payment being turned into a means-tested benefit
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The new Labour Government is under fire over its decision to means-test the Winter Fuel Payment which experts believe could plunge millions of pensioners into fuel poverty.
Previously, the energy bill support scheme awards up to £300 to those of state pension if they are struggling to pay for heating and electricity but this is set to change this year.
Under new rules outlined by Chancellor Rachel Reeves, older Britons will now need to be in receipt of means-tested support to get any Winter Fuel Payment.
This will include Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) benefits, including Pension Credit and Universal Credit.
However, uptake among state pensioners for claiming Pension Credit has been infamously low in recent years.
Charities have warned that around 800,000 older people in need could be missing out on vital energy bill support.
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Angela Rayner has defended the Government's decision-making
PACaroline Abrahams CBE, the charity Director at Age UK, outlined what is potentially at stake for older households across the country.
She explained: "We strongly oppose the means-testing of Winter Fuel Payment because our initial estimate is that as many as two million pensioners who badly need the money to stay warm this winter will not receive it and will be in trouble as a result – yet at the other end of the spectrum well-off older people will scarcely notice the difference – a social injustice.
“A big reason for this disastrous outcome is that more than one in three pensioners entitled to Pension Credit, the qualifying benefit for WFP under this proposal, don’t receive it, a proportion that’s been roughly constant for many years.
"More than 800,000 older people living on very low incomes – under £218.25 a week for single pensioners and under £332.95 for couples – who are already missing out on the Pension Credit they are entitled to get to boost their incomes, will now lose the WFP that helps them to pay their fuel bills."
Defending the Government's decision-making, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner blamed ITV's This Morning on the "horrendous" finances Labour have been saddled with.
According to Labour's second-in-command, the newly launched GB Energy will bring down household energy bills and lower reliance on support like Pension Credit.
Rayner explained: "So there were some really difficult choices and what the Chancellor set out with the winter fuel payments was about people on pension credit. Now there’s thousands of people who are eligible for pension credit that are not currently receiving it.
“So my plea to people who are listening to this is check out whether you’re available for pension credit because there’s so many people that won’t and those people will continue to get the Winter Fuel Payment."
Energy bills have skyrocketed in recent years amid the ongoing cost of living crisis.
While costs have eased in recent months, in line with Ofgem's price cap, bills will likely jump up once again with winter around the corner.
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The cost of living crisis has pushed energy bills to new heights in recent years GETTY A Government spokesperson said: "This Government is committed to pensioners: protecting the triple lock, keeping energy bills low through our Warm Homes Plan, and cutting NHS waiting lists – bringing real stability to people’s lives.
"We said we would be honest with the public and, given the dire state of the public finances we have inherited, this Government must take difficult decisions to fix the foundations of the economy.
"In these circumstances, it is right that Winter Fuel Payments are targeted at those in most need, and we will work with Local Authorities to boost the uptake of Pension Credit, reaching the many pensioners who could still benefit from this year’s Winter Fuel Payments."