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Latest figures from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have confirmed that attempts to help more pensioners with Pension Credit have flopped.
Following the announcement in July 2024 that Winter Fuel Payments would be cut for all pensioners except those in receipt of Pension Credit, the DWP launched a nationwide campaign to encourage more pensioners to apply for Pension Credit.
Between August 2024 and the start of Winter Fuel Payments being paid out in November, just 179 more pensioners across Wirral and Ellesmere Port were approved for Pension Credit.
Councillor Vida Wilson (Conservative, Moreton and Saughall Massie) said: “Last summer, 58,801 pensioners in Wirral were told they would lose their Winter Fuel Payments unless more of them applied for Pension Credit.
“At the time, a majority of councillors urged the Government to rethink the plans, highlighting the complexity of the application process for Pension Credit including the 243 questions that pensioners were asked to answer.
“The latest figures show that just 179 more pensioners across the whole of Wirral and Ellesmere Port managed to apply for and receive Pension Credit and keep their Winter Fuel Payments.
“This week’s u-turn, which may be too late for any changes this year, must also learn the lessons from their failed Pension Credit campaign and make the whole process easier and less intrusive.”
- Councillor Vida Wilson
Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director at Age UK said: "We welcome the PM's comments and his commitment to change, but of course the devil is always in the detail, and we postpone judgement until we hear more.
“Means-testing Winter Fuel Payment in the way the Government announced last summer resulted in many pensioners on low incomes missing out on money they simply couldn’t afford to lose and at Age UK we saw the results in the winter just gone: very significant numbers of older people too frightened to turn on their heating when it was cold, making life utterly miserable for them and putting their health at risk.”
