Pension credit applicants waiting times could more than double with fears the Labour Government can not keep up with application processes fast enough.
Under the Labour government’s winter fuel reforms, only those in receipt of eligible benefits, including pension credit, will still qualify for support this winter.
Pensioners are now having to wait twice as long as before with the average wait doubling from 25 working days in September to 52 working days in October.
It comes after Labour’s publicity drive to encourage pensioners on low incomes to apply for the benefit led to a surge of applications. The total number of outstanding applications waiting to be processed has rocketed by 125%.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) was unable to keep up, leaving pensioners at risk of facing cold weather without winter fuel payments.
According to figures released by the DWP, the average time it takes to process applications for pension credit increased from 25 working days on September 25 to 52 working days on October 21.
This has meant pensioners are now having to wait up to 10 weeks for their application to be processed.
Five weeks after the Labour’s winter fuel payment axe, the DWP received a total of 38,500 applications – more than double the number of applications in the five weeks before.
The sheer rise of applications exceeded DWP’s own 50-day target with some pensioners now having to wait as long as two and a half months with some even up to three months.
DWP reportedly diverted 500 staff to help deal with increased demand of applications
Speaking to The Telegraph, partner at pension consultants LCP Steve Webb, said: “The surge in applications for pension credit means that the average wait to find out if you will get anything has already doubled.
“This clearly shows that the Government has not put enough extra staff in place to cope with the higher volume of claims.
“Given that pension credit is designed to help people living below the poverty line, it is totally unacceptable that people are having to wait an average of 10 weeks (or 50 working days) before they get a penny.”
DWP previously launched a campaign in September targeting more than 800,000 pensioners estimated to be eligible for pension credit but were not claiming it.
A spokesman for the DWP said: “We want to ensure all pensioners get the support they’re entitled to.
“These figures are a reflection of our successful pension credit campaign boosting applications by 152pc and we are deploying more than 500 extra staff to process the expected increase in claims.
“Successful claims for pension credit can be backdated by three months, so all eligible claims made by December 21 would also receive a winter fuel payment as well as arrears of pension credit.”
“We continue to urge anyone who thinks they may be entitled to pension credit to check now.”
