Potential u-turn for winter fuel payments
- Kelly Collier
- May 21
- 2 min read
A potential u-turn for winter fuel payments has just been signalled by the Prime Minister in Prime Minister Questions this morning. Are we about to see a change of heart?
Sir Kier Starmer said that the Labour Government wants to make sure that more pensioners are eligible for the winter fuel allowance as the economy is improving. This is to be part of a "fiscal event". More details are to follow in the Autumn Budget.
Listen to what he said at
There was no detail in the statement but this could mean that pensioners, other than those receiving pension credit, could be eligible for winter fuel payments in the future. The Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said that they believed, having reviewed their figures in November 2024, that a potential 50,000 pensioners would be in relative poverty as a result of the cut for the 2024, 2025, 2026 and 2027 years. These cuts could be offset by an increase in claims for pension credit for those who had not thought about applying before. The true extent of this cut would not be seen for a number of months whilst claims were made, approved or refused.
From the latest February 2025 figures 117,800 pension credit applications have been made which is an increase in 64% on the same period last year. Have you checked whether you are eligible for pension credit? Here is the link to see if you are:-
if you need some help in filling in the application give our friends at Wrinkly CIC a call on 0800 36 88 377 who will help you complete your application and claim for other benefits of visit their website at https://www.wrinklycic.org/
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