Older people in Wales urged to apply for Pension Credit before deadline as Winter Fuel Allowance cut
Issa Farfour reports
Age Cymru are warning older people in Wales to sign up for pension credit before the deadline, if they want to receive a Winter fuel payment.
They say more than £200 million in pension credit goes unclaimed each year in Wales.
With changes to the Winter Fuel Payments, all pensioners will no longer receive money automatically, instead, only those who also receive pension credit will be eligible.
An estimated 400,000 households in Wales are expected to be impacted by cuts to the Winter Fuel Allowance, the UK government has confirmed.
One of whom is Iona David who said she will have to budget her way through winter.
She said: "I'm very careful about what I do, I have a blanket when I'm sitting down. I do all sorts of things to try to minimise the use of heating.
"I'm concerned for myself, I live alone, I'm dependent on myself".
She added: "I'm also concerned about older pensioners who are in difficult situations. They are very unwell. When I speak to them, what I'm hearing is 'what's the point of being here, because everything seems to be against us."
Michael Phillips, from Age Cymru says "there is a concern that with Winter approaching, people may decide to keep their heating off, or cut back on food, and make themselves seriously ill, which would present even more problems for our beleaguered health and social services.
"We have to remember that many older people require more heating because they are housebound, or have serious illnesses that require a warm home."
Age Cymru say in their 2024 annual survey of over 1300 older people across Wales, almost half of older people found cost of living to be a challenge over the last 12 months, and over half of older people had issues with their physical health.
They say this will only worsen with cuts to this vital financial support during the winter months.
An Age UK petition to reverse the changes to the winter fuel allowance has more than 470,000 signatures - Age Cymru say 18,000 of those are people in Wales.
The Chancellor has defended the move to scrap the payments for some pensioners insisting it will be offset by increases by pensions and lower energy prices this winter compared to last year.
Speaking in the House of Commons, the chancellor said she had settled on "difficult decisions" - which included making "the winter fuel payment better targeted" - to "put the public finances on a sustainable footing".
She said: "We inherited a £22 billion blackhole from the previous government who made unfunded spending commitments with no idea how to pay them.
"When I became chancellor I took an immediate audit of the spending situation to understand the scale of that challenge, and I made difficult decisions to put the public finances on a sustainable footing.
"They were tough decisions, but they were the right decisions."
A UK Government spokesperson said: “We are absolutely committed to supporting pensioners and giving them the dignity and security they deserve in retirement.
"That’s why, through our commitment to protect the triple lock, over 12 million pensioners could see their state pension increase by almost a thousand pounds over the next five years.
“But given the dire state of the public finances we have inherited, it’s right that we target support to those who need it most while we take the difficult decisions needed to fix the foundations of our economy.
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: "Maximising incomes, building financial resilience, and putting money back into people pockets are top priorities.
"We are investing £30 million this year into our Warm Homes Nest scheme to tackle fuel poverty for homeowners and households renting from private landlords. Free expert energy advice is available to all householders in Wales via the Nest helpline."
When is the deadline to apply for pension credit?
The deadline to apply for Pension Credit in order to receive a Winter Fuel Payment this year is the 22nd of September.
But Age UK say "many people are unaware that successful Pension Credit claims can be backdated by up to three months so there is more time to make a claim if people cannot meet the first deadline. "
"If you claim Pension Credit after you reach State Pension age, the very last day you could claim and guarantee that you will get 3 months backdating to bring you within the qualifying week to also get a WFP would be 21 December 2024.
"If people want to claim over the phone, they’ll need to do so by Friday 20th September to do so."
Who is eligible for pension credit?
You're eligible if:
You live in England, Scotland, or Wales, and have reached state pension age,
You're from the EU, Norway, Iceland, or Liechtenstein and have settled or pre-settled status,
You meet certain income criteria:
When you apply for Pension Credit your income is calculated. If you have a partner, your income is calculated together.
Pension Credit tops up:
your weekly income to £218.15 if you’re single
your joint weekly income to £332.95 if you have a partner
If your income is higher, you might still be eligible for Pension Credit if you have a disability, you care for someone, you have savings or you have housing costs.
You can see the full list of eligibility criteria on the UK government website.
How can I apply?
To make a claim, you can either phone the DWP Pension Credit direct line, or on the UK government website.
Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know…