New DWP rule means state pensioners 'can't afford to heat their homes'

A new Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) rule means state pensioners can't afford to heat their homes. After the Labour Party government scrapped £300 Winter Fuel Allowances for those not in receipt of Pension Credit, state pensioners who are struggling have spoken out.

Avril, a 76-year-old widow from Horsham, shared her concerns with the Chancellor via the FairFuelUK Campaign about how she will be impacted by the Chancellor. She explained: "I am a 76-year-old widowed pensioner with mobility problems, and I desperately need my small car to get anywhere.

"If the price of petrol rises, I cannot afford to leave home. I will be trapped there." Avril added: "I do not qualify for the Winter Fuel Allowance because my income is just a few pounds over the limit to claim Pension Credit, and I cannot afford to have my heating on at all this winter."

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Caroline Abrahams, the charity director of Age UK, explained: "In defending its decision, the Government has sought to rely on the increase in State Pension coming in from next April, but that does nothing to help pensioners this winter.

"Moreover, our new financial analysis shows that by no means every pensioner will get as much as Government spokespeople tend to imply, nor will the extra money they are due reach them as quickly as may be assumed. Rather than trying to defend the indefensible so far as the impact of its decision on poor pensioners is concerned, the Government should accept the reality and take decisive action to protect them this winter.

"We know some older people are having sleepless nights because of their anxiety about how they will afford their heating bills." She went on and said: "The Budget is the Government’s opportunity to put their minds at rest and we strongly urge them to take it."