Pensioner cost of living payment: What to do if you’re missing £300 sum | Personal Finance | Finance
Millions of pensioners who rely on the state pension should have received a top-up of between £150 and £300 to their Winter Fuel Payment, depending on their circumstances, to help with the cost of living. Anyone who hasn’t received it by now should first check whether they are eligible for this help towards their energy bills before getting in touch with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
Winter Fuel Payments are made to households who have someone over state pension age living there to help pensioners stay warm during the winter months.
Last year, 11.3 million people received a Winter Fuel Payment between £150 and £300 depending on their circumstances.
Energy bills are around twice as much as they were this time last year meaning this latest Winter Fuel Payment comes with an additional £300 cost of living payment.
While most Winter Fuel Payments were paid in November and December. anyone who hasn’t received is now advised to ask about a missing payment.
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Who qualifies for the Winter Fuel Payment?
Pensioners who were born on or before September 25, 1956 and also have lived in the UK for at least one day in the qualifying week should qualify. In addition, those aged 66 are eligible if they also receive:
- Attendance Allowance
- Awards from the War Pensions Scheme
- Carers Allowance
- Disability living allowance (DLA)
- Incapacity benefit
- Income support
- Income-based jobseeker’s allowance (JSA)
- Income-related employment and support allowance (ESA)
- Industrial death benefit
- Industrial injuries disablement benefit
- Pension Credit
- Personal independence payment (PIP)
- State pension
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Anyone who thinks they are eligible for this financial support should apply before March 31, 2023 to receive this year’s payment in full.
People can contact the DWP’s Winter Fuel Payment centre on 0800 731 0160 or by going to GOV.UK.
Britons can send the claim form to Winter Fuel Payment Centre, Mail Handling Site A, Wolverhampton, WV98 1LR.
However, some pensioners and disabled Britons who live in flats, bungalows and small houses will no longer receive the Warm Home Discount support worth £150.
Changes to how the energy bill support is paid were made in 2022 but it’s only now that vulnerable people are realising this vital lifeline is being taken away.
People who live in flats, bungalows and small houses won’t receive the lifeline this year despite depending on the state pension, disabillity benefits and low income benefits to survive.
Disabled dad James O’Grady, from Erdington, told BirminghamLive: “People are losing their homes.
“The Government needs to prioritise (who it helps) but they are not doing it. It’s £150 – it’s not like loose change.”
Express.co.uk contacted the Government’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which was responsible for changing the criteria.
A spokesperson said: “This is not true – people on disability benefits who are also on means-tested benefits can qualify and that was the case previously.
“Our reforms last Spring mean that more households in fuel poverty will benefit from the Warm Home Discount than ever before.
“An extra 800,000 pensioners and low-income families will benefit this year compared to last and it is awarded according to people’s financial circumstances.”
