Hundreds of thousands of pensioners to miss out on up to £300 in winter fuel payments this winter
HUNDREDS of thousands of pensioners approaching state pension age will miss out on winter fuel payments this year because the goalposts have been moved.
This is because the age you become eligible to receive the up to £300 discount off your energy bills has risen in line with increases to the age women get their state pension.
Until April 2010, women reached state pension at 60. But this figure has been gradually rising and this November it will reach 65 for both men and women.
After this, it will rise in stages to age 68 between 2037 and 2039.
What this means for winter fuel payments is that last tax year (2017/18), you needed to be born on or before August 5, 1953 to qualify.
This means you would have been aged at least 64 and three months when the benefit was typically paid in November.
Am I eligible for winter fuel payments?
TO get the winter fuel payment this year, you need to meet the following requirements:
- you were born on or before 5 November 1953
- you lived in the UK (or in Switzerland or another country excluding Cyprus, France, Gibraltar, Greece, Malta, Portugal or Spain) for at least one day during the week of 17 to 23 September 2018 - this is called the ‘qualifying week’
You won't 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 week between 17 to 23 September 2018
- lived in a care home for the whole time between 25 June and 17 September 2018, and got pension credit, income support, income-based jobseeker’s allowance or income-related employment and support allowance
But this tax year (2018/19), you need to be born on or before November 5, 1953 to qualify.
What this means is you'll be aged at least 65 when the benefits are paid - a roughly nine month difference compared to last year.
And as you've got to wait an extra nine months, you'll miss out on this year's payment, which is usually made between November and December, and by January 14, 2019 at the latest.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) couldn't tell The Sun how many people this may affect.
But its most recent forecasts from this spring reveal that it expects around 236,000 fewer people to claim winter fuel payments in 2018/19 compared to 2017/18.
This takes the number of people receiving the benefit down to 11,574,000 from the 11,810,000 people forecast to get it last year.
How do I get winter fuel payments?
UNDER the winter fuel payments scheme, you get between £100 and £300 depending on your circumstances.
This should be paid automatically in November and December 2018 if you get the state pension or another social security benefit excluding housing benefit, council tax reduction, child benefit or universal credit.
If you’re eligible but do not get paid automatically, you will need to make a claim.
The deadline for claiming payments for winter this winter is March 31, 2019.
Of course, some of these people will sadly die or move abroad or no longer meet the other requirements needed to get the benefit - but it's likely a good chunk of these people will simply miss out as they have to wait till next year.
Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, told The Sun: “The winter fuel payment is a huge help to many older people, giving them not just the money but the confidence to keep the heating on when it’s cold outside.
"The steep rise in women’s state pension age (SPA) has meant many women are having to wait longer to get their pension, and both women and men have to wait longer for vital benefits such as the winter fuel payment which are linked to the SPA.
"As we head into winter, we would urge any older people who are worried about money to contact us in case they’re entitled to claim extra support.”
Age UK can be reached via its free advice line free on 0800 169 65 65 or via the .
A DWP spokesperson said: “Almost 12million people will continue to receive between £100 and £300 to help with their winter fuel bills.
"We spent around £2billion helping pensioners to keep warm last winter, money which makes a real difference to millions of people.”
More on energy bills
For more information, see our guide to what is the DWP winter fuel allowance, how do you apply, who’s eligible for the scheme, and is it different to the cold weather payment?
Here's how to get help paying your energy bills this winter.
The Government is planning to cap energy prices for millions by the end of this year.
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