Keir Starmer’s government has come under fire after MPs voted in favour of cutting winter fuel payments to pensioners.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced that the benefit would no longer be universal, and instead is to be mean tested – meaning only the poorest will receive it.
The government faced rebellion from Labour MPs over the controversial plans, with longest-serving female MP Diane Abbott among those signalling their opposition.
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The Winter Fuel Payment is designed to help eligible people keep warm and pay their heating bills and is in addition to any Cost of Living payments or other benefits.
Starmer’s move to means test the Winter Fuel Payment, worth up to £300, is believed to affect up to 10 million pensioners, with the government facing warnings that some could end up in hospital as a result of the change.
But Labour says it is necessary to fill a financial ‘black hole’, saving £1.4 billion this year alone.
So who is eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment and how do you claim it? Here’s what you need to know.
How much is the Winter Fuel Payment?
The Winter Fuel Payment is a one-off payment between £200 and £300 depending on age, designed to help with heating costs.
The amount you get is based on when you were born and your circumstances between September 18 to 24, 2024. This is called the ‘qualifying week’.
The current payment is the lower rate of £200 for those aged between 66 and 79, and the higher rate of £300 for those over 80.
When was the Winter Fuel Payment introduced?
Since they were introduced by Labour in 1997, one-off fuel payments have been made to pensioners each winter to help them cover the cost of heating their homes.
When first introduced, they were targeted at pensioners receiving certain benefits, but they were expanded to be a universal benefit in 2000, meaning everyone was paid automatically no matter how much their income was.
They continued being paid to all pensioners until this year, as Rachel Reeves announced in July that the benefit will be means tested.
She acknowledged it was a ‘difficult choice’ but said it was due to the ‘difficult circumstances because of the previous government and what they did’.
What has Sir Keir Starmer said about winter fuel payments?
The Labour leader has said he is ‘absolutely clear’ in his mind that the payment needs to be cut to stabilise public finances.
He told the BBC: ‘We can’t bring about that change if we don’t fix the fundamentals and stabilise our economy.’
He added: ‘Talking to many pensioners in the last two or three years, the things that have hit the most and hardest are inflation, because it got out of control under the last Government, energy bills, because the steps that were needed to be taken years ago weren’t taken, and the cost of living.
‘I’m determined that no pensioner will ever be put through that before. That’s why we’re fixing the foundations now, tough though that may be.’
Former PM Rishi Sunak criticised the government for taking winter fuel payments away while approving public sector pay rises.
He said leadership was about choices and asked the PM why ‘has he chosen train drivers over pensioners?’
Criticism came from both sides of the political spectrum, with Sharon Graham, general secretary of Unite, the UK’s biggest trade union, urging him to ‘do a U-turn’ on the policy, as it would ‘pick the pocket of pensioners’ while leaving the richest ‘totally untouched’.
Who voted against scrapping the Winter Fuel Payment?
Following a Conservative motion to strike down planned cuts to the winter fuel payments, there were 53 Labour MPs who did not register a vote (though several did so because they were unable to make it to the House of Commons for the vote.)
In the end, there were 228 votes in favour of the Conservative motion and 348 against.
Jon Trickett, MP for Normanton and Hemsworth, was the only Labour MP to vote in favour of the Conservative motion.
In a statement released after the vote, Trickett said: ‘I fear that removing the payment from pensioners will mean that many more will fall into poverty this winter.
‘We know that the consequences of pensioner poverty are devastating. It can even be a matter of life and death.’
He added that he had ‘worked behind the scenes’ to try and change ministers’ minds, but ‘to no avail’.
An Early Day Motion in the Commons opposing the move was signed by several MPS including former shadow chancellor John McDonnell, as well as fellow Labour MPs Ian Lavery, Ian Byrne, Kate Osbourne, Mary Kelly Foy, Bell Ribeiro-Abby, Nadia Whittome, Clive Lewis and Jon Trickett.
A number of former Labour MPs who had the whip suspended for voting to scrap the two-child benefit cap also signed the motion, including Zarah Sultana, Richard Burgon and Apsana Begum.
The newly-minted Independant Alliance of MPs also signed an open letter opposing the move, claiming the government is ‘choosing to inflict pain and poverty across the country’.
The letter, posted by former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn on Twitter, was signed by Corbyn and fellow independant MPs Adnan Hussein, Shockat Adam, Iqbal Mohamed and Ayoub Khan.
What has Martin Lewis said about winter fuel payment change?
Money-saving expert Martin Lewis is one of the loudest voices calling for a rethink, saying that the plan from Chancellor Rachel Reeves could be ‘dangerous’.
He said that while he understands the argument to means-test the benefit, the eligibility criteria should be more generous as it currently doesn’t include all those who will struggle.
Writing on X, he said: ‘The government must rethink Winter Fuel Payments or almost ALL pensioners will need to find £100s more than last winter.
‘While energy will cost less than during last winter’s crisis time, the reduction in rates only equates to a drop of roughly £100 over the six winter months for a household with typical usage.
‘Yet specific pensioner energy support has dropped by far more… Last year pensioner homes got up to £300 extra per household cost of living support – that’s gone, and its loss alone is far bigger than the saving made by slightly lower rates.
‘Piling on top of that is the government’s new decision to means-test Winter Fuel Payments, that will leave all except usually those who claim Pension Credit missing out on a further £200 – £300.
‘While there’s a strong argument for ending the universality of Winter Fuel payments, eligibility is being squeezed to too narrow a group. Those just above the thresholds will be hardest hit.’
Winter Fuel Payment eligibility requirements
From this year, only pensioners already receiving other benefits such as Pension Credit or Universal Credit will be given it.
This has caused alarm for two main reasons. The first is that most people only receive Pension Credit if their annual income is under £11,336.
It is not a high amount, and even those with income above this threshold may need help heating their home enough, especially if they have additional needs that require higher energy consumption, or live an an energy-inefficient home.
With the energy price cap about to rise by 10% this year, paying bills will be a challenge for many.
Age UK claimed that up to two million pensioners who ‘badly need the money to stay warm this winter’ will not receive it.
Secondly, although roughly 1.4 million people claim Pension Credit, there are almost a million pensioners (at least 800,000) who are eligible but who do not.
This could be for many reasons, such as pride and not wanting to take hand-outs, not knowing they are eligible, or not feeling able to manage the paperwork necessary to apply.
There are therefore fears that many who badly need the Winter Fuel Payment will not get it because they will slip through the net if linked to other benefits, whereas if it was a universal benefit they would just get it in their bank account without having to jump through any hoops.
Is the winter fuel allowance taxable?
No. A Winter Fuel Payment does not count as income when working out your entitlement to other benefits and cannot be taxed by the government.
How to apply for the Winter Fuel Payment
If you are a pensioner and think you should be eligible, you should apply for Pension Credit as the fuel payment will be paid automatically to those receiving this.
You can apply online using the government’s website here, or there is also the option to post a printed form.
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