10 Million Pensioners Cut from Winter Fuel Payment Scheme: Only 1.5 Million Eligible as UK Government Saves £1.4 Billion-Check it out!

Winter Fuel Payment Eligibility Reduced to Only the Poorest Pensioners

About 10 Million Pensioners to Lose Benefit as New Rules Take Effect

According to The Telegraph, the winter fuel payment scheme in the UK is undergoing a major overhaul that will affect many British pensioners starting this winter. Introduced in 1997 this payment was designed to help all retirees with their heating costs providing up to £300 a year. However Chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced that due to a significant budget shortfall the payment will now only be available to the poorest retirees. This change means that about 10 million pensioners who used to receive this benefit will no longer be eligible reducing the number of recipients to around 1.5 million people.

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10 Million Pensioners Cut from Winter Fuel Payment Scheme: Only 1.5 Million Eligible as UK Government Saves £1.4 Billion-Check it out!(PHOTO: GOOGLE)

New Winter Fuel Payment Rules Cut Benefits and Change Eligibility

Under the new rules only pensioners who receive pension credit and certain other benefits will get the winter fuel payment like income-based jobseeker’s allowance income-related employment and support allowance, income support and universal income are the benefits that were included. If you don’t receive these benefits you won’t get the winter fuel payment. The government expects this change will save £1.4 billion this year and £1.5 billion next year. Eligible households will now receive between £200 and £300 with those aged 80 and over getting the higher amount. This is a decrease from the previous range of £100 to £300.

Payments are usually sent directly to bank accounts or provided through the Payment Exception Service for those without banks. Most payments are made in November and December often arriving by Christmas. Recipients get a letter in October or November with details on their payment amount. If a payment isn’t received by the end of January they should contact the Winter Fuel Payment Centre for assistance.

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