Brits have until the end of today to confirm their eligibility for the Winter Fuel Payment. While most individuals will be unable to qualify for the Winter Fuel Payment, others may still be eligible via Pension Credit.
This important benefit provides an average of £3,900 per year and may potentially enable access to further assistance with housing expenses and energy bills. To be eligible, pensioners must apply for Pension Credit before the end of December 21.
This benefit entitles recipients to a winter fuel payment of up to £300 per year. However, the government’s new means-testing criteria have limited financial assistance for many people in England and Wales.
Anyone above the state pension age who has a low income is eligible. You may be eligible for the benefit even if you have other sources of income, a pension, savings, or own property.
Pensions Minister Emma Reynolds said earlier this week, “We won’t reconsider that decision because in a very tight fiscal environment, when we inherited a £22 billion black hole from the party opposite, we had to take some very tough decisions.”
She went further: “What I will say is, he’s given me the opportunity to remind people that they have until Saturday to make a pension credit claim which can be backdated and which will passport them to winter fuel payments and other related benefits.”
Last month, Liz Kendall, the DWP Secretary, said that about 800,000 people in Britain who are eligible for Pension Credit do not claim it. This means they are losing out on up to £2,677 in additional income each year and possibly more than £10,000 in other advantages.
British residents collectively miss out on nearly £1 billion in Pension Credit by failing to claim it. This benefit is intended for persons over the State Pension age with a moderate income and provides help with housing expenditures such as rent.
Individuals with supplementary income, savings, or property may still claim the Pension Credit. Pension Credit eligibility may be determined using the government’s online eligibility calculator, and claims can be submitted on the government’s website.
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