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.
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.
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.”
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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