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Ministers fear up to 120,000 of the most vulnerable pensioners will miss out on money to pay their winter fuel bills after Rachel Reeves stripped the payment from millions of older people.
The government is to write to the group next month to warn them they will lose out unless they apply for pension credits before Christmas.
But many face months-long delays in processing forms, meaning they still may not receive the cash this winter, The Independent can reveal.
Ministers have defended the change, saying they have to “get the money from somewhere” and blaming the last Conservative government for leaving a £22bn black hole in the public finances.
But they have urged less well-off pensioners to apply for pension credit, under which they would still be eligible for the £200-300 winter fuel payment, designed to help with heating costs during the colder months.
Now ministers are to write to tens of thousands of pensioners to warn they could still be eligible for the cash.
Out of around a million older people on housing benefit, they will tell more than 100,000 of them they could still receive assistance with their heating bills.
Work and pensions minister Emma Reynolds said in an answer to a parliamentary question: “In November we will also be writing to approximately 120,000 pensioners who are in receipt of housing benefit and who may also be eligible for, but not currently claiming, pension credit. We will be inviting these pensioners to claim pension credit by 21 December.”
Ann Davies, Plaid Cymru’s work and pensions spokesperson, who asked the question, said she was “deeply disappointed” by the government’s refusal to expand winter fuel payment eligibility to include other vulnerable groups. “The impact on pensioners facing rising energy bills and the cost of living crisis could be devastating,” she warned.
“I am also disappointed that these pensioners have yet to be informed, with the DWP only planning to write to them in November. Given delays in processing payments, there’s a real risk they may not receive the money this winter, leaving many to struggle through the bitterly cold winter months without support.”
“Our pensioners deserve to live in warmth, dignity, and security this winter,” she added.
The news comes as a survey by the National Association of Welfare Rights Advisers (Nawra) shows many of its members are facing lengthy waits. Forty-five per cent reported that their clients experienced an average delay of between 12 weeks and six months, and 17 per cent said that figure was more than six months.
Even if an eligible pensioner applied for pension credit at the beginning of August, a six-month wait would mean their winter fuel payment wouldn’t be paid until the start of February, potentially leaving them to struggle in the colder months of December and January.
The chancellor’s announcement of the changes sparked a rush of applications, potentially making delays even longer. Applications for pension credit, designed to top up the income of pensioners who have less than £218.15 a week to live on, have soared since the chancellor’s announcement, piling more pressure on the system.
Even including a period before the change was announced, the average processing time for applications was around eight weeks, DWP figures between 3 June and 7 October show.
A Nawra spokesperson said: “The times are highly likely to increase. The figures also do not give any indication of the longest waiting times, or of the numbers who are experiencing them.”
The charity Age UK estimates that under the plans, around two million vulnerable pensioners who need the money will miss out.
Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, called on ministers to give winter fuel payments to all pensioners in receipt of housing benefit this winter.
“If [ministers] choose to press on … at the very least, they must urgently bring in measures to greatly expand the numbers who will still receive winter fuel payment, by automatically giving it to those receiving housing benefit, council tax support, personal independence allowance, attendance allowance and carers allowance,” she said.
“This would be a partial solution but won’t help every older person on low incomes that the charity is worried about, so further help would also be required for some pensioners who only receive a low proportion of the full state pension.
“If the government declines to bring forward any mitigating measures at all in the Budget, we fear for the 2.5 million pensioners we think will be worst affected this winter. At best, their lives will be anxious and miserable, at worst, their health could be badly undermined.”
Steve Darling, the Liberal Democrat work and pensions spokesperson, said: “It’s nothing short of distressing that the pensions minister is yet to write to thousands of pensioners who may be able to keep their winter fuel allowance.”
A government spokesperson said: “We are committed to supporting pensioners – with millions set to see their state pension rise by up to £1,700 this parliament through our commitment to the triple lock.
“Anyone who makes a successful claim for pension credit and meets the winter fuel payment eligibility criteria will receive their payment, and we are deploying 450 additional staff to process the expected increase in claims.
“Over a million pensioners will still receive the winter fuel payment, and our drive to boost pension credit take-up has already seen a 152 per cent increase in claims. Many others will also benefit from the £150 warm home discount to help with energy bills over winter while our extension of the household support fund will help with the cost of food, heating and bills.”
