The winter fuel payment delays that will leave thousands in the cold

Hundreds of thousands of pensioners who are entitled to the winter fuel allowance may not get it this year because of the time it takes to apply for pension credit.
The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has introduced means testing so that you now have to be getting the pension benefit to be eligible for extra support with your energy bills. This has led to a surge of applications, and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is struggling to cope.
It usually aims to process claims within 35 days, but an automated message on the pension credit claim line said it could now take nine weeks (63 days). There are 101 days until Christmas.
There were more than twice as many applications (38,500) in the five weeks after Reeves announced the change than there were in the five weeks before (17,900).
Of the 2.2 million households who are thought to be eligible for pension credit, the government estimates that about 880,000 do not claim it, often because they don’t realise they are entitled or because of stigma attached to claiming benefits. The wealth manager Quilter said that the publicity around the winter fuel payments could lead as many as 500,000 of those eligible for pension credit to apply this year — but most would not get their payments in time for Christmas because of the delays in the system.
The payments, which are worth between £200 and £300, are usually made in November and December so claimants can use the money to cover their higher bills in the colder months.
Jon Greer from Quilter said: “Delays in the application process will undoubtedly mean that hundreds of thousands of pensioners who should benefit from pension credit, and therefore the winter fuel allowance, could miss out.”
Official correspondence seen by The Times has revealed that the government’s IT systems cannot track new pension credit claims properly because this would take up “disproportionate resources”, further adding to concerns that the department may not be able to cope with the surge in demand.
• Too rich for winter fuel allowance, but too poor to heat our home
You can get pension credit if you do not get the full state pension, which is worth £221.20 a week. Single people have to be of state pension age and have an income of less than £218.15. Couples need an income of less than £332.95 a week.
The average pension credit payment is about £75 a week — £3,900 year. To get this year’s winter fuel payment you need to apply for pension credit before December 21.
Greer urged anyone who may be eligible for pension credit to apply as soon as possible.
A third of applicants are likely to be unsuccessful. Between April 6, 2019 and July 31 this year there were 848,973 claims, with 572,565 being approved, according to data obtained by Quilter under a freedom of information request. About 271,000 applicants were turned down.
The DWP said: “We have sourced additional staff to process the increase in pension credit claims and continue to urge anyone who thinks they may be entitled to check now. All eligible claims will be backdated as we make sure the most vulnerable still get the winter fuel payment.”
A spokesman also pointed out that the full state pension was going up by £460 a year from April — “an uplift for more than 12 million people”.
• Is there help for my disabled gran without her winter fuel allowance?
There is growing speculation that Reeves’s budget next month will include the removal of the 25 per cent council tax discount for people who live alone, which takes about £543 a year off the average B and D council tax bill. About 8.4 million people benefit from the discount, half of whom are pensioners. Scrapping it would save the Treasury £3 billion a year, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, a think tank.
The introduction of means testings for the winter fuel allowance, which MPs voted for this week, will take the payments away from about 10 million pensioners, saving the exchequer £1.4 billion this year.
Those who qualify for pension credit can also get a council tax reduction of up to 100 per cent, housing benefit and a free TV licence if they are over 75. Some energy suppliers will also offer money off energy bills.
The surge in applications looks likely to add to pressure on the government’s IT systems. Back in 2022, correspondence between Guy Opperman, a former pensions minister, and the Labour MP Stephen Timms, revealed that the DWP did not have the technology to routinely track how many pension credit claims were successful.
When asked if this situation had changed, the DWP declined to respond.
Steve Webb, another former pensions minister who now works for the consultancy LCP, said: “In light of this surge in applications, there is a need for government systems to be set up to provide proper information about what is going on so that ministers can make well-informed decisions about what is happening on the ground.”
• Winter fuel payments for pensioners explained
To get pension credit, you must live in the UK and have reached state pension age (66, rising to 67 from 2026) and have less than £218.15 a week income.
You can lodge a claim online at gov.uk or by calling 0800 99 1234 up to four months before you turn 66, but beware — the application form has 24 pages and has 243 questions in 15 sections and has been criticised for being too complicated.
If you have savings and investments of more than £10,000, each £500 above this amount counts as £1 in additional income a week when calculating eligibility. For example, £11,000 savings would count as £2 a week income.
Pension credit is made up of guarantee credit, which tops up your weekly income to £218.15 (£332.95 for a couple) and savings credit, available to people who reached state pension age before April 6, 2016, which can add an extra £17.01 extra a week if you are single or £19.04 for a couple.