MPs vote to axe winter fuel payment

Up to 10m pensioners are now set to lose their winter fuel payment immediately in a shock decision which was not publicised in the Labour manifesto before the election.

Conservative MP Mel Stride said: ‘Rushing such a policy through without taking the time to consider impacts to ensure effective and fair implementation and allow possible scrutiny is impossible to justify, this is not the way to make good policy.’

The move is predicted to make the government £1.4bn this year, and £7bn over the course of this parliament.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) launched a campaign last week to encourage those who are no longer eligible for the winter fuel payment to claim additional support towards their bills through pension credit.

Since the chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the plan to abolish the payments, the number of pensioners applying for pension credit over the last five weeks has doubled compared to the five weeks before this.

In the five-week period before the cut was announced just 17,900 claims were made, with 38,500 claims after the 29 July announcement.

Rachel Vahey, head of public policy at AJ Bell said: ‘The government’s shock decision to axe the winter fuel payment has prompted the UK’s pensioners to put in claims for pension credit benefits, with the number of claims doubling since the announcement on 29 July.

‘This shows the UK’s pensioners are acting fast. Previous government estimates suggest just six in 10 people who are eligible for pension credit make an application, potentially costing those on the lowest incomes thousands of pounds in lost income.’

However, although the number of claims has been rising in the past five weeks, since 2019 the number of claims has also been rising. 2019 saw 94,893 claims in total, with just 10,370 of these refused. By 2023-24 214,309 claims were made, with 83,168 rejected.

So far this financial year there have been 60,209 claims, but one third of these have been refused, while 39,498 claims are still outstanding.

Jon Greer, head of retirement policy at Quilter said: ‘It is evident that when the government actively promotes pension credit, there is a noticeable increase in the number of applicants, which is positive.

‘However, with a third of pensioners who apply for pension credit being refused, there is considerable confusion over who is eligible.’