'I'm a Waspi woman and will have to choose between heating and eating after losing £200 Winter Fuel Payment'
Waspi women are speaking out about the Government's decision to means-test the Winter Fuel Payment
GETTY
A Waspi woman has shared that she been left "choosing between heating and eating" following Labour's decision to means-test the Winter Fuel Payment.
The Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi) campaign has fought for women born in the 1950s impacted by historic changes to the state pension age but some women are speaking out the recent removal of vital energy bill support.
Last month, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the previously universal Winter Fuel Payment would be means-tested as Labour attempts to plug a £22billion "black hole" in the public finances which it claims has been left by the last Government.
As such, pensioners will now need to claim means-tested benefit payments from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in order to claim up to £300 in energy bill support.
Some 10 million older Britons will no longer receive the annual Winter Fuel Allowance ahead of the forecast hike to Ofgem's energy price cap in October unless they claim support such as Pension Credit.
Calling into BBC 5 Live, June Marsh, 67, from Eastbourne, Sussex shared how she will be impacted by the Chancellor's decision. Thinking she was going to access her pension earlier than expected, Marsh had had her finances hit by the longer wait for the state pension.
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Charities are not happy about the Winter Fuel Payment being turned into a means-tested benefit GETTY Now the Waspi woman has suffered another financial blow with Reeves' latest Winter Fuel Payment update. She told the BBC: "I was shocked because it came out of the blue. We had no warning from the Labour Party manifesto that this was likely to happen. Then I was angry and now I'm absolutely distraught.
"The way I used my Winter Fuel Allowance, I got £200. It would give me £50 a month towards my heating bills for the coldest months of the year. From November onwards. Suddenly, how am I going to find that £50.
"The only possible way I can think of it cutting down on food bills. This year, I will be one of those pensioners choosing between heating and eating. That's not right. In this day and age, 10 million pensioners [could] be in the same position."
The show's host Rick Edwards read out comments from 5 Live listeners who disagreed with June's assertion that Labour's overhaul of the Winter Fuel Payment has been too tough.
Edwards read out a message from Paul, 63, from London who said his daughters face a tougher jobs and housing market than today's pensioners once did and older people should think of younger generations for a change.
In response to this, Marsh said she was not opposed to some degree of means-testing of the Winter Fuel Payment but said this should be done in a better way than Labour is proposing.
According to the Eastbourne resident, she is not eligible for the DWP's Pension Credit due to having an income which is barely above it eligibility threshold. claimants are only able to receive a top-up if their weekly income if less than £218.15 if they are single of £332.95 if they are in a couple.
The Waspi woman said: "Some of these people should try living in my shoes. I agree not every pensioner needs it. Perhaps we should look at better ways of means-testing it. However, the level of Pension Credit is lower than the state pension.
"I'm above the limit by £20 and its a complete cut-off. Means-test it by all means. I don't have any problem with that but for those of us who are living on the breadline... last year I could only heat one room, I could only keep one light on, I didn't use my oven. That was last year with the fuel allowance, I don't know what I'll do."
Furthermore, Marsh shared that she will not be entitled to a Warm Home Discount, which awards a £150 discount off electricity bills from suppliers, for households on low income or the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit.
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Waspi women have already been hit financially due to historic changes to the state pension
GETTYDespite owning her home, the Waspi woman is not keen to downsize in order to generate more income for herself as she already sold her home in London to move to Eastbourne.
"It means moving away from friends I've got in the area. I was a Waspi woman and I had to sell my house in London because I couldn't afford the mortgage anymore," she shared.
"So I've been hit twice. This Government have got it in for me. I'd already moved away from one support network. It feels like your options are rapidly shrinking."
A Government spokesperson said: [We are] 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.”
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