HELP AXED
Winter Fuel Payment change confirmed in budget as 10million lose payment
Plus we reveal who can still get the cash
MILLIONS of state pensioners will miss out on the winter fuel payment, it's been confirmed in the Autumn Statement.
Only those on Pension Credit, or other means-tested benefits, will qualify for up to £300 in energy bill help starting this year.
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The move was first announced back in July but has been confirmed today by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in the official Budget documents.
It comes after Ms Reeves also confirmed that the state pension will go up by £473 a year.
Until now, winter fuel payments have been made available to everyone above state pension age, which is currently 66 for both men and women.
The Government announced the payment would become means-tested meaning only those on certain benefits are eligible.
READ MORE on winter fuel
The "trick and treat" Halloween package included:
- A freeze to fuel duty for a 15th consecutive year in a win for The Sun's Keep It Down campaign
- A penny off a pint by cutting draught beer duty, but raising booze taxes on other drinks
- A gloomy forecast of sluggish growth in a blow to Labour's flagship mission
- A stamp duty rise for second-home buyers of two percentage points
- A pay rise for millions as the minimum wage was increased by £1,400 a year
- A hike to a packet of cigarettes as smoking duties were raised
- A new tax on vapes ahead of the looming ban on disposable e-cigs
- Higher taxes on air passenger duty for private jets that hits the wealthy
- A benefits crackdown with Ms Reeves telling jobless Brits to "get back to work"
- An increase to the state pension of £473 next year through the triple lock
- An inheritance tax raid through freezing the rates people pay
- An increase to the Carer's Allowance to give cash to 60,000 more carers
Ms Reeves previously said it was a "difficult decision" and not one she wanted to make.
Her comments came as she revealed plans to tackle a projected overspend of £22billion.
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This includes those on income support, tax credits, Universal Credit, and largely Pension Credit.
That policy is expected to reduce the number of pensioners who receive the payment by 10million, from 11.4million to 1.5million, saving some £1.4billion this financial year.
The Sun launches our Winter Fuel SOS campaign
The winter fuel payment is designed to help pensioners pay for their energy bills over the winter.
It's worth £200 for eligible households, or £300 for eligible households with someone aged over 80.
This is typically when households use more energy due to the colder weather.
Since the move was first announced, Ms Reeves and the government have faced huge backlash from charities and campaigners.
WATCH RACHEL REEVES ON NEVER MIND THE BALLOTS
By Ryan Sabey, Deputy Political Editor
RACHEL Reeves will be grilled in a special Budget edition of The Sun’s Never Mind The Ballots show today.
Our Political Editor Harry Cole will put the Chancellor on the spot shortly after she’s finished delivering her crucial address in the House of Commons.
It will be available to watch on , and Sun social channels at 5.30pm.
Topics will include her decision on whether to spare motorists a fuel duty rise, and the expected eye-watering tax rises she will impose.
Since its launch earlier this year, NMTB has cemented its place at the heart of British politics.
During the General Election campaign The Sun was the only print publisher to host back-to-back grillings of Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer.
Footage from The Election Showdown has been viewed over 15 million times.
NMTB has also featured interviews with ex-PMs Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, as well as senior politicians Nigel Farage, James Cleverly, Wes Streeting, Steve Reed and Bridget Phillipson
It comes after thousands of Sun readers flooded The Sun's Winter Fuel SOS helpline earlier this month, looking for help to hang on to the payment.
The Sun has now launched a free tool to help you check whether you will get the winter fuel payment this year.
To be eligible for this year's winter fuel payment, you must have an active claim for the benefits mentioned below during the "qualifying week," which runs from 16 to 22 September.
These include Universal Credit, employment and support allowance (ESA), jobseeker's allowance (JSA), income support, child tax credit and working tax credit and pension credit.
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Most households automatically receive the winter fuel payment, including those on pension credit.
As new claims for pension credit can be backdated by up to three months, you can still apply now and qualify for this year's winter fuel payment.
The absolute deadline to claim the benefit and qualify is December 21.
In a bid to get more people signed up to pension credit the Chancellor also announced that the administration of Pension Credit and Housing Benefit will be brought together for new claimants from 2026.
This is two years earlier than previously announced, and will support more people to receive the benefits that they are entitled to.
What is the Winter Fuel Payment?
Consumer reporter Sam Walker explains all you need to know about the payment.
The Winter Fuel Payment is an annual tax-free benefit designed to help cover the cost of heating through the colder months.
Most who are eligible receive the payment automatically.
Those who qualify are usually told via a letter sent in October or November each year.
If you do meet the criteria but don't automatically get the Winter Fuel Payment, you will have to on the government's website.
You'll qualify for a Winter Fuel Payment this winter if:
- you were born on or before September 23, 1958
- you lived in the UK for at least one day during the week of September 16 to 22, 2024, known as the "qualifying week"
- you receive Pension Credit, Universal Credit, ESA, JSA, Income Support, Child Tax Credit or Working Tax Credit
If you did not live in the UK during the qualifying week, you might still get the payment if both the following apply:
- you live in Switzerland or a EEA country
- you have a "genuine and sufficient" link with the UK social security system, such as having lived or worked in the UK and having a family in the UK
But there are exclusions - you can’t get the payment if you live in Cyprus, France, Gibraltar, Greece, Malta, Portugal or Spain.
This is because the average winter temperature is higher than the warmest region of the UK.
You will also not qualify if you:
- are in hospital getting free treatment for more than a year
- need permission to enter the UK and your granted leave states that you can not claim public funds
- were in prison for the whole "qualifying week"
- lived in a care home for the whole time between 26 June to 24 September 2023, and got Pension Credit, Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance or income-related Employment and Support Allowance
Payments are usually made between November and December, with some made up until the end of January the following year.
CHECK IF YOU QUALIFY
Pension credit tops up your weekly income to £218.15 if you are single or to £332.95 if you have a partner.
This is known as "guarantee credit".
If your income is lower than this, you're very likely to be eligible for the benefit.
However, if your income is slightly higher, you might still be eligible for pension credit if you have a disability, you care for someone, you have savings or you have housing costs.
You could get an extra £81.50 a week if you have a disability or claim any of the following:
- Attendance allowance
- The middle or highest rate from the care component of disability living allowance (DLA)
- The daily living component of personal independence payment (PIP)
- Armed forces independence payment
- The daily living component of adult disability payment (ADP) at the standard or enhanced rate.
You could get the "savings credit" part of pension credit if both of the following apply:
- You reached State Pension age before April 6, 2016
- You saved some money for retirement, for example, a personal or workplace pension
This part of pension credit is worth £17.01 for single people or £19.04 for couples.
Pension credit opens the door to other support, including housing benefits, cost of living payments, council tax reductions and the winter fuel payment.
Claims for pension credit also open doors to a number of freebies and discounts.
For example, pension credit claimants over 75 qualify for a free TV licence worth up to £169.50 a year.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Claims for the benefit also provide eligibility to £25 a week cold weather payments and the £150 warm home discount.
We have a guide on all the state pension freebies and discounts
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing [email protected].
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