Pensioner groups attend a protest organised by the Unite union outside the Houses of Parliament over cuts to the Winter Fuel Payment as the DWP urged older people to check if they may still be eligible (Image: Getty Images)

DWP writing to every pensioner explaining how to get Winter Fuel Payment back

by · Birmingham Live

Millions of state pensioners are to receive a letter urging them to check if they can get their Winter Fuel Payment back. Hundreds of thousands of older people could regain access to the annual allowance if they put in a successful application for Pension Credit.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced that the fuel scheme, previously provided to all those who are over State Pension age by mid-September, would be limited to the least well-off in a bid to help plug what she called a £22 billion "black hole" in the public finances. As a result, the number of pensioners in line to get the £200-£300 sum is set to fall from 10.8 million to 1.5 million people, which could save the Government £1.5 billion.

Only those in receipt of Pension Credit and some other means-tested benefits will still qualify for the payment, following a Commons vote in early September. It's thought another 880,000 people are entitled to Pension Credit - worth around £3,900 a year on average - but are not claiming it, and the DWP launched a campaign to encourage more people to come forward and apply, which would mean they would still get their Winter Fuel Payment.

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The DWP says it is now planning to send letters to every pensioner in the UK, explaining the changes to the scheme and asking them to check if they are eligible for Pension Credit so they wouldn't miss out on the heating support.

News of the mass mail-out follows a written question by Richard Burgon (Independent, Leeds East), who asked whether the DWP "plans to write to every person entitled to but not claiming Pension Credit."

DWP Pensions Minister Emma Reynolds responded earlier this week by saying: "Starting this month, pensioners in England and Wales will receive a letter informing them of the change in eligibility to the Winter Fuel Payment and encouraging them to check their eligibility for Pension Credit. Similar letters to pensioners in Scotland and Northern Ireland will follow during November.

"In November we will also be writing to approximately 120,000 pensioners who are in receipt of Housing Benefit and who may also be eligible for, but not currently claiming, Pension Credit. We will be inviting these pensioners to claim Pension Credit by December 21, which is the latest date for making a successful backdated Pension Credit claim and still qualifying for a Winter Fuel Payment."

Meanwhile, the new Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay has urged his Labour counterpart to back a U-turn on the Winter Fuel Payment ahead of the UK Budget on October 30. The cuts to the payment mean Scotland will also have to follow the same restrictions this year before looking at introducing its own devolved scheme next winter.

Mr Findlay urged all leaders in Holyrood to sign a letter from the trade union Unite calling for the move to be reversed. "Labour's decision to axe the Winter Fuel Payment will cause suffering for millions of elderly people across the UK, forcing many to choose between heating and eating," he said.

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