State pensioners 'dreading' DWP shake-up with eligibility rules tightened

Pensioners have rushed to share their anxiety over losing £300 support in a Winter Fuel Payment cut from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and Labour Party government. State pensioners have warned they are "dreading" the shake up.

Speaking to Age UK, Melvyn, 81, shared: "We struggled last year when we had a Winter Fuel Payment, so this year is going to be harder still. We try and only use one hour of heating a day." Sheila, 80, added: "I recently finished 16 months of cancer treatment which left me with peripheral neuropathy, so I feel the cold very badly.

"I am also partially sighted so can’t drive and stuck in the house most of the time. Last winter I was paying nearly £300 per month so I am dreading this winter." Caroline Abrahams CBE, the charity director at Age UK, said: "It’s no surprise to us at Age UK, and it really shouldn’t be to anyone else either, that the great majority of older people spent their Winter Fuel Payment on energy related costs last year.

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"With fuel prices having gone up so much compared to five or 10 years ago, even older people who expected to be relatively comfortable in retirement have been impacted and forced to tighten their belts. And for those without much money behind them, energy bills have become a source of real fear.

"Knowing they were going to receive their Winter Fuel Payment took some of the anxiety of unaffordable fuel bills away and this universal entitlement was highly valued by pensioners as a result. It’s quite clear from our survey results that without it this year, really significant numbers of older people will be showering or bathing less, turning their heating down or off altogether, and in some cases eating fewer hot meals."