Winter Fuel Payment axe pushes pensioners to skip meals as older Britons wait 12 weeks for Pension Credit
Labour’s decision to effectively axe Winter Fuel Payments for pensioners has resulted in around one million elderly Britons skipping meals, according to new research from Age UK.
Earlier this year, Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed the up to £300 in energy bill support will be reserved for those on means-tested benefits from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), such as Pension Credit.
It is understood that there is a backlog of Pension Credit applications waiting to be processed with thousands of pensioners waiting up to 12 weeks to access the gateway benefit to the Winter Fuel Payment.
More than one million people aged the state pension age, 66, or over have been skipping meals, according to Age UK’s data. Around two-thirds of this age demographic have long-term health conditions.
This means that around 620,000 pensioners suffering from serious health conditions are believed to be missing meals as a result of the Government’s Winter Fuel Payment axe.
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The charity’s research found that older households were slashing the number of heat meals that they are having in order to save money on energy bills this winter.
Four in nine pensioners, the equivalent to 5.5 million people, admitted that they were concerned that they would not be able to heat their home enough this festive season.
Furthermore, more than 900,000 older Britons with long-term conditions revealed they were worried about getting into debt due to keeping their heating on over the months ahead.
Campaigners are urging the Government to reconsider its decision to means-test Winter Fuel Payments to prevent pensioners from falling further into fuel poverty.
Caroline Abrahams, Age UK’s director, shared: “There are long delays now waiting for Pension Credit. The problem is the whole system has been overwhelmed. I understand they’re about 12 weeks now.
“Somebody could apply today for Pension Credit and be eligible, but if you work it out, they’re not going to hear even if they are successful until the back end of the winter.
“It’s really worrying that people with long-term health conditions are going to be badly hit because they are the most vulnerable. That is extremely bad news for the NHS.
“We could have avoided this. If this disaster has shown anything to the Government, us and the public, it is that the idea that all older people are doing fabulously well and are all very affluent is, sadly, not the case.”
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Based on official figures, the Government has received around 150,000 claims for Pension Credit in the 16 weeks since Reeves’s announcement in July, representing a 145 per cent hike in claims in the previous 16 weeks.
A Government spokesperson said: “We are committed to supporting pensioners, with millions set to see their state pension rise by up to £1,900 this parliament through our commitment to the triple lock.
“Over a million pensioners will still receive the Winter Fuel Payment and our drive to boost pension credit take-up has seen applications more than double, with over 40,000 more pensioners now receiving pension credit, as well as the winter fuel payment.
“We have deployed additional staff to support processing applications, seeing a 51 per cent increase in the number of cleared claims since the chancellor’s announcement.”