Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced last month that only pension credit recipients would be eligible for the tax-free payment, which was designed to assist older adults with increased heating bills over the winter.
The unexpected action was taken as part of attempts to close a £22 billion deficit in the public coffers that Labour said the Conservatives had been “covering up” while in power.
Amidst worries that hundreds of thousands of eligible retirees have not yet made their claims, the new government is starting a campaign today to inform people about the changes.
The funds were formerly accessible to everyone over the state pension age, but they will now be restricted.
This implies that only 1.5 million people will be eligible to receive the money, down from 11.4 million.
For households with all recipients under 80, the payout is £200; for households with more than 80, it is £300.
According to the Department for Work and Pensions, up to 880,000 households that are eligible for the help have not yet made a claim, despite the fact that almost 1.4 million retirees are currently receiving pension credit.
In addition to encouraging retirees to apply by December 21—the deadline for filing a backdated claim for pension credit in order to be eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment—the government is launching an awareness campaign to help identify homes that are not receiving the benefit.
