DWP stripping cash payments from 1.6 million people who are in poverty

The DWP will plough ahead with the £300 Winter Fuel Payment axe despite fury over the decision from the Labour Party government.

The Department for Work and Pensions is set to strip 1.6 million pensioners of cash - despite them being in POVERTY. The DWP will plough ahead with the £300 Winter Fuel Payment axe despite fury over the decision from the Labour Party government.

Figures released in a Freedom of Information Act (FOI) request show 1.6 million pensioners living in relative poverty after housing costs – 84 per cent – were not claiming Pension Credit from the DWP. 1.2 million pensioners living in absolute poverty after housing costs – 85 per cent – were not claiming them.

It means a million people face having the £300 sum stripped. Jess Asato, Labour MP for Lowestoft asked in the Commons: "What recent estimate she has made of the number of pensioners not in receipt of Pension Credit living in (a) relative and (b) absolute poverty; and what estimate she has made of the number of additional pensioners who will be living in (i) relative and (ii) absolute poverty as a result of no longer receiving the Winter Fuel Payment?"

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Emma Reynolds said: "For the latest year 2022/23, 1.9 million pensioners were in relative poverty after housing costs (AHC). Of these, 1.6 million pensioners were not in receipt of Pension Credit. For the latest year 2022/23, 1.4 million pensioners were in absolute poverty AHC. Of these, 1.2 million pensioners were not in receipt of Pension Credit.

"A household is in relative poverty if its income is less than 60 per cent of the median household income in a given financial year. A household is in absolute poverty if its income is less than 60% of median household income in 2010/11, uprated by inflation."

She said: "Recognising the wide-ranging causes of pensioner poverty, we will explore how we can use all the available levers we have across government, external partners and local authorities. This includes boosting the uptake of Pension Credit to ensure that the poorest pensioners get the support they need.

"We know there are low-income pensioners who aren’t claiming Pension Credit, and we urge those people to apply. This will passport them to receive Winter Fuel Payment alongside a range of other benefits – depending on circumstances, these could be worth hundreds of pounds that could really help them."