The clock is ticking for elderly people to claim the winter fuel allowance, with just hours remaining for pensioners to check their eligibility before Saturday night’s deadline.
Following rule changes introduced this summer, the payment, which is intended to help with energy bills and is worth up to £300, will only be given to pensioners who receive pension credit or certain other benefits.
The cut-off point for making a pension credit application by phone is 3.15pm on Saturday December 21, while the window for online claims will remain open until 11.59pm.
Telephone applications can be made by calling 0800 99 1234. Online claims can be made at: apply-for-pension-credit.service.gov.uk/start; applicants will need their national insurance number together with details of their income, pension and other personal finances over the past three months.
The reason for the deadline is that pension credit, a means-tested benefit that is designed to help with everyday living costs and is worth an average of £3,900 a year, can only be backdated by a maximum of three months.
To receive the winter fuel allowance, claimants must therefore have been eligible for pension credit during the ‘qualifying week’ of 16-22 September.
‘It is vitally important that pensioners on low incomes check their eligibility,’ said Jon Greer, head of retirement policy at Quilter.
According to government estimates, 760,000 households eligible for pension credit fail to claim.
Rule changes made in July mean that winter fuel payments will only be given to people who receive pension credit or certain other benefits – but it’s not too late to apply
The winter fuel allowance is intended to help with energy bills and is worth up to £300
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While less than half of people who apply are approved, even those who are successful may not receive any money until as late as March, based on the current processing time for applications. Yet that should not be a deterrent, according to Tom Selby, director of public policy at the British investment platform AJ Bell.
‘Even a claim for a small amount of pension credit top-up during the “qualifying week” of September 16 to 22 should trigger a winter fuel payment worth up to £300,’ said Selby.
The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, announced in July that claims for the winter fuel payment – which was previously available to all pensioners – would be limited to those eligible for pension credit or other means-tested benefits.
The rule change, which has created a huge backlog of pension credit claims, meant that about 10 million people who previously received the allowance were disqualified at a stroke.
Reeves defended the move as a ‘necessary and urgent’ measure that would help to fill a ‘black hole’ in the public finances. But while it is expected to save the Treasury £1.4 billion, it has sparked a huge public and political backlash.
The government has nonetheless urged elderly people to check their pension credit eligibility before the deadline for winter fuel allowance claims expires.
‘Over one million pensioners will still receive the winter fuel payment, and our drive to boost pension credit take-up has seen applications more than double, with over 40,000 more pensioners now receiving it, as well as the winter fuel payment,’ said a government spokesperson.
‘We continue to urge anyone who thinks they may be entitled to pension credit to check now, as all eligible claims can be backdated, and anyone who makes a successful claim before [11.59pm on] December 21 will receive their payment.’
Disabled pensioners are supported by extra disability benefits and may also be entitled to pension credit depending on their circumstances.
