'Wrong!' Labour under fire as millions of pensioners to lose £300 Winter Fuel Payment

Older Britons will now need to be in receipt of means-tested benefits from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), including Pension Credit.

This is a top-up payment for those of state pension age who are on low income, however, uptake for the benefit remains low.

According to charity Age UK, the two million people ineligible for the Winter Fuel Payment are made up of three groups.

Some 800,000 older households who are eligible for Pension Credit are currently not receiving it.

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This may be because they do not know their eligibility status, they may not want to ask for help or are unaware of how much they could get if they apply for the DWP benefit.

Furthermore, many Britons are believed to be struggling to complete the application for Pension Credit.

Around one million people also are above the income threshold for getting Pension Credit, Age UK claims.

This means they will be unable to qualify for the £300 in financial assistance provided by the Winter Fuel Payment.

Paul Farmer, the chief executive of Age UK, criticised the Government's decision and called for sensible "reform".

He explained: "We believe the decision to make the Winter Fuel Payment means-tested is the wrong one at the wrong time.

"Why? Many older people who have financial security will say they don’t really need it. But there are also many older people who do – about two million, in fact."

"There’s no doubt the Pension Credit system needs reform so it is fair for all. There’s no doubt that we need better cohesion between the benefits system and health and social care services."

"And there’s equally no doubt that this can’t happen before the leaves disappear from the trees and the frosts set in.

"So when we publicly oppose a Government initiative, we do so to influence the debate and ultimately the policy."

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How to apply for Pension Credit?

Britons are able to begin their application up to four months before they reach state pension age. It is possible to apply anytime after becoming a pensioner, the application can only be backdated by three months.

Here is a full list of the personal information people will need to share to apply for the DWP benefit:

• National Insurance number
• information about any income, savings and investments they have
• information about their income, savings and investments on the date they want to backdate their application to.