A cut to benefits for millions of state pensioners has been announced today in a bid to ‘slash £1.5bn from the UK’s budgets’.
It means many state pensioners will lose as much as £600 this coming winter because eligibility for some winter payments has been changed to be much stricter.
Currently Winter Fuel Payments are handed out to state pensioners born before September 25 1957, with payments of between £250 and £600 automatically issued to those eligible.
The benefit is basically paid to everyone who is a UK resident born before 1957, unless you were in hospital getting free treatment for over a year or you were in prison.
But today, Labour Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced a slew of funding cuts based on a £22Bn ‘black hole’ she says has been discovered in the country’s finances.
It means that the Winter Fuel Payments will no longer be automatically paid, but instead, will only be given to people who receive a benefit.
Eligible benefits include Pension Credit, Universal Credit, Income Support, Jobseeker’s allowance and any income related support.
The Chancellor announced: “Around £1.5 billion will be saved per year by targeting Winter Fuel Payments meaning households with someone aged over State Pension age receiving Pension Credit, Universal Credit, Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance and income-related Employment and Support Allowance will continue to receive Winter Fuel Payments. This will better target support for heating costs at those who need it.”
She added: “This is not the statement I wanted to give today, and these are not the decisions I wanted to make. But they are the right decisions in difficult circumstances.”
