DWP set to 'widen' letters offering free £300 to more state pensioners

The DWP has shared a key update to state pensioners who could miss out on the £300 sum from the DWP despite being eligible.

The Department for Work and Pensions is preparing to widen its Winter Fuel Payment (WFP) letters to more state pensioners. The DWP has shared a key update to state pensioners who could miss out on the £300 sum from the DWP despite being eligible.

The DWP is now taking steps to contact eligible pensioners to ensure they don't miss out on the payment. The Labour Party fovernment department said it will get in touch with those claiming Housing Benefit but not Pension Credit.

The letters are set to begin in November, as confirmed by DWP minister Sir Stephen Timms in response to Labour MP Paula Barker. A DWP spokesperson stated: "We will be writing to 120,000 pensioner households in receipt of Housing Benefit but who are not currently claiming Pension Credit as they may be eligible.

READ MORE I was Liam Payne's close friend and he was so ill in ways he couldn't beat

"We urge anyone who thinks they may be entitled to Pension Credit to check their eligibility and apply." Analysis by Age UK London revealed that approximately 127,000 pensioners are at risk of losing their Winter Fuel Payment despite being eligible to keep it.

One 79-year-old woman told Age UK London: “I worry, but there is nothing I can do about it. I sold all the jewellery of any value that I had. I got £127 for a Hatton Garden made bracelet with a diamond in it, my diamond engagement ring and a plain gold ring. I now have nothing else to sell.”

John McGeachy, Age UK London’s campaigns manager, said: “It’s 2024 and we should not be hearing from older people telling us that they will not be putting on their heating this winter or that they are having to make extremely hard choices every single day.

“The poverty rate for older Londoners is unacceptable with well over a fifth of over 50s in London living in poverty. London continues to have the highest poverty rate for both pensioners (aged 66 and over) and all over 50s in the UK. The changes to winter fuel payment eligibility will make things significantly worse as we head into the winter months.

“It is vital that decision makers across London work together to address and alleviate the financial hardships faced by older Londoners — we all need to work together to ensure that no older Londoner is left behind this winter.”