Two million UK households being deprived of DWP payment 'they badly need'

Rachel Reeves is under renewed fire from MPs and charities over cuts to Winter Fuel Payments. The new Labour Party Chancellor maintains that overspending by previous government has left her little room for manoeuvre - after axing £300 payments for pensioners.

The country’s leading charity for older people, Age UK, has written to Reeves with a specific proposal it believes will be fairer and that would prevent around two million pensioners being deprived of a payment it says they badly need.

Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said: “Age UK has written to the chancellor, explaining why we oppose the means-testing of winter fuel payment and asking her to take action to safeguard the estimated two million pensioners who, as things stand, are set to lose it and who will experience severe hardship as a result.

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“We think that, if the policy is to be introduced at all, then it shouldn’t happen so quickly, and if it is to happen in the future, the pool of pensioners entitled to winter fuel payment needs to be made far wider. There are different options for how to achieve this, but there’s no time to do any of them – or to make a big difference to pension credit take-up either – in the few months left this year.

“It’s important to understand that by aligning the means-testing of the payment with pension credit, the government is removing it from all pensioners whose annual incomes are above about £11,500 if they are single and £17,500 if they are a couple.

“We accept that the state of the public finances means that people of all ages who can afford to contribute more should be asked to do so, but surely no one can reasonably suggest that a widow living on her state pension and a tiny occupational pension, taking her income to a meagre £13,000 a year, is someone who ought to be in that category. And yet this is the result of the government’s decision. They need to think again.”

Writing for the Observer, Ms Reeves said: “That first month it was made clear to me that, unless I acted urgently, market confidence in the UK’s fiscal position could be seriously undermined. That would have meant higher debt, higher mortgages, and higher prices in the shops. I was not prepared to let that happen.”

And a government spokesman said: “We are absolutely committed to supporting pensioners and giving them the dignity and security they deserve in retirement. That’s why, through our commitment to protect the triple lock, over 12 million pensioners will see their state pensions increase by almost £1,000 over the next five years.

“But given the dire state of the public finances we have inherited, it’s right that we target support to those who need it most while we take the difficult decisions needed to fix the foundations of our economy. Over a million pensioners will continue to receive the winter fuel payment and eligible pensioners will also be able to benefit from the £150 warm home discount scheme from October to help with their energy bills over winter.

“We are urging pensioners to come forward and check their eligibility for pension credit to ensure as many people in need as possible have access to this support.”