Winter fuel payments won’t be reinstated for all in blow to millions, minister confirms
Millions thrown into uncertainty over winter fuel payment update
- The government will make changes to winter fuel payments, ensuring pensioners are paid this coming winter, but details on the level of payment and how it will be funded will not be announced until the Autumn budget.
- Pensions minister Torsten Bell said there is no prospect of returning to a universal winter fuel payment for all, as the government aims to avoid paying millionaires.
- Labour MP Rachael Maskell criticised the decision, saying that means-tested benefits often fail to reach vulnerable people.
- In July, the chancellor announced that pensioners not receiving pension credits or other means-tested benefits would no longer receive the winter fuel payment, reducing the number of recipients from 10.8 million to 1.5 million.
- Critics argue the cuts disproportionately harm vulnerable people, potentially forcing 100,000 pensioners into poverty by 2026.