Winter Fuel Payment shock as 'seven in 10' disabled pensioners to lose £300 energy bill support

The new Labour Government has came under fire from campaigners, finance experts and its own MPs to effectively axe the up to £300 in financial assistance.

Previously a universal benefit, it estimated that around 10 million state pensioners will lose access to the Winter Fuel Payment from this year.

Specifically, a total of 1.6 million disabled Britons will miss out on the benefit which is around 71 per cent of pensioners with a disability.

Furthermore, 2.7 million Britons over the age of 80 and 7.3 million between the ages of 66 and 79 will no longer be able to access the allowance.

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Around 4.7 million individuals who are expected to lose payments live by themselves which could increase the financial burden for them.

Former pensions minister Sir Steve Webb said: "It is shocking that this impact assessment has appeared late on a Friday evening, three days after MPs voted on the issue. The Government’s own figures show that seven in 10 disabled people over pension age will lose their winter fuel payment, and more than eight in 10 of those aged 80 or over."

A Government assessment found couples are most likely to be impacted with men likely to be marginally more affected than women due to low incomes. This comes ahead of Ofgem's 10 per cent hike to the energy price cap which will push costs up over winter.

From October 1, the average energy bill for a typical household in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will jump from from £1,568 to £1,717

Earlier this week, a motion to annul Labour's cuts to Winter Fuel Payments was defeated by MPs with 348 votes to 228s in the House of Commons.

In order to access the Winter Fuel Payment, those of state pension age will now need to be in receipt of Pension Credit.

This is a benefit payment administered by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) for older households on low income.

Reacting to the news, Age UK's charity director Caroline Abrahams shared her disappointment and outlined what is at stake for pensioners.

She explained: "The reality is that driving through this policy as the Government is doing will make millions of poor pensioners poorer still and we are baffled as to why some Ministers are asserting that this is the right thing to do.

"We and many others are certain that it is not, and that's why we will continue to stand with the pensioners who can't afford to lose their payment and campaign for them to be given more Government support.

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"Meanwhile, winter is coming and we fear it will be a deeply challenging one for millions of older people who have previously relied on their Winter Fuel Payment to help pay their energy bills and who have no obvious alternative source of funds on which to draw."

A Government spokesman said: “While it is not routine to publish advice as part of the development of policy, we have published the equality analysis on winter fuel payment eligibility.

"Our focus is on ensuring that those who should be claiming this support are receiving it alongside the wider support for vulnerable households, including the warm homes discount worth £150 and household support fund to help people with the cost of living and energy bills.

"Over a million pensioners will continue to receive the Winter Fuel Payment and through our commitment to protect the triple lock, those on the full new state pension will receive an extra £400 – twice the average winter fuel payment.”