DWP giving state pensioners free £175 to fill Winter Fuel Payment void

A Department for Work and Pensions £175 payment could fill the Winter Fuel Allowance void for state pensioners, it is hoped. Labour Party MP Liz Kendall has penned an open letter in response to scrapping universal Winter Fuel Payments for pensioners.

Instead, Ms Kendall says the government is committed to supporting the older generation through schemes like the £150 Warm Home Discount and £25 Cold Weather Payments. "At the time of the original policy decision, the internal modelling showed that compared to the numbers that would have been in poverty without this policy, restricting Winter Fuel Payment eligibility would result in each year in question an estimated additional 100,000 pensioners in relative poverty after housing costs in 2025/26, 50,000 in both 26/27 and 27/28 and 100,000 in 28/29. For absolute poverty after housing costs, it is estimated that an additional 50,000 pensioners will be in poverty in each year in question from 25/26 to 28/29," she said.

The Winter Fuel Payment is an annual payment to help you with heating costs during the colder months. The Government announced in July 2024 that, from this year onwards, to be eligible you must have reached State Pension age and also receive a qualifying means-tested benefit. When the weather is especially cold for a sustained period, you may also be eligible for a Cold Weather Payment.

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There is also a Warm Home Discount scheme – an annual payment to help with the cost of energy during the winter. It's designed to make things a bit easier for those living on a low income or pension. Ms Kendall explained: "The latest modelling shows that compared to the numbers that would have been in poverty without this policy, it is estimated that in each year in question there will be an additional 50,000 pensioners in relative poverty after housing costs in 2024/25, 2025/26 and 2027/28, instead."

Ms Kendall continued: "We have also put in place extra financial support for the most vulnerable households including pensioners through the £150 Warm Home Discount to help with energy bills, the Cold Weather Payments and our extension of the Household Support Fund. Means-testing Winter Fuel Payments was not a decision this government wanted or expected to take.

"However, we were forced to take difficult decisions to balance the books in light of the £22 billion black hole we inherited."