huffingtonpost - 16 days ago

Winter fuel payments are in the spotlight ahead of the government s plans to restrict them to pensioners on pension credit.The vast majority of pensioners will receive winter fuel payments again this year, the Treasury has confirmed.All those with an income of £35,000 or below will become eligible after a public backlash forced a major Labour U-turn.That means around nine million pensioners – just over three-quarters of the total – will now qualify for the payment, which is worth £200 a year, or £300 for those aged over 80.Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced last July that, for the first time, the annual payments would become means-tested rather than given to all pensioners.She said only those receiving pension credit – meaning their income was £12,000 or less – would get it. In all, 10 million pensioners missed out last winter.Reeves said the policy would save the public purse £1.5 billion and help fill the £22 billion black hole in the nation’s finances left by the Tories.But she was forced into a rethink because the policy was so unpopular and identified as one of the main reasons for Labour’s disastrous showing at last month’s local elections in England.Announcing the new rules, Reeves said: “Targeting winter fuel payments was a tough decision, but the right decision because of the inheritance we had been left by the previous government.“It is also right that we continue to means-test this payment so that it is targeted and fair, rather than restoring eligibility to everyone including the wealthiest. “But we have now acted to expand the eligibility of the winter fuel payment so no pensioner on a lower income will miss out. This will mean over three quarters of pensioners receiving the payment in England and Wales later this winter.” All pensioners will receive the payment, but the two million expected to be above the new £35,000 income threshold will have it recouped by His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs through the tax system.The change is expected to cost the Treasury £1.25 billion in England and Wales, but sources insisted it will still save the public purse around £450 million compared to when it was a universal benefit.The Scottish government and Northern Ireland Executive, which are responsible for the payments in their countries, will receive extra cash from the Treasury to cover the cost.Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said the misery caused by the government’s original decision to means test the payment “cannot be overstated”.“Countless pensioners were forced to choose between heating and eating all whilst the government buried its head in the sand for months on end, ignoring those who were really suffering,” he said.Related...Rachel Reeves Confirms More Pensioners Will Get Their Winter Fuel Payments This Year Cack-Handed : Laura Kuenssberg Slams Labour s U-Turn Over Winter Fuel Payments Just F*****g Do It : Keir Starmer Under Pressure To U-Turn On Winter Fuel Policy Straight Away

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