The National Pensioner’s Convention urges each of our members to write and ask their MPs to press the government to stop universal Winter Fuel Payments being axed.
The NPC fears Chancellor Rachel Reeves shock decision to effectively means-test the vital payment will condemn millions more older people to a miserable winter, unable to afford to turn on their heating or the cooker.
NPC members across the country have already expressed their anger at the move to restrict the payment to those in receipt of pension credit. Many on tight incomes rely on the extra payment to offset high fuel bills – which are set to rise by a further 10% in October.
As it stands, a massive 40% of those qualifying for pension credit are not even receiving it, while many more, whose income pushes them just above the qualifying threshold are also struggling to make ends meet.
Jan Shortt, NPC General Secretary said: “We are calling on our members to write and ask their MPs to press the Chancellor to reverse her devastating decision on Winter Fuel Payments. I seriously believe she has underestimated the harm the means-testing of this measure will cause, forcing millions more to have to choose between turning on the heating or preparing a hot meal.”
“We want every MP to hear our voices on this critical issue, that’s why we are asking NPC members to contact them en masse.
Jan added: “I will also be writing directly to Chancellor Rachel Reeves on behalf of the NPC, and we are joining together with other older people’s charities and fuel poverty groups to campaign for the decision to be reversed.”
Jan said that while we appreciate the new government’s commitment to the triple lock, guaranteeing state pension increases, it will not be enough to offset the loss of the Winter Fuel Payment for millions of older people.
ENDS
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*Template letter below to EMAIL OR POST to your local MP:
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Dear (INSERT NAME OF YOUR MP)
I am writing as a constituent to express my deep concern with Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ plan to remove the Winter Fuel Payment from older people who do not receive Pension Credit.
As a voter, and a member of the National Pensioners’ Convention – the UK’s largest campaign group run for and by older people – I ask you to press the Chancellor to reverse her devastating decision on this payment.
Official figures confirm that two million older people across the UK are already in poverty. But many more are also living in cold, damp poorly insulated homes, fearful of turning on their heating, or the cooker, and washing in cold water, all to save money.
Restricting the Winter Fuel Payment to whether an older person receives Pension Credit will be a disaster for them – especially for the 40% who are eligible but can’t or don’t know how to claim - as well as the millions more just above the eligibility threshold.
Restricting the Winter Fuel Payment this autumn does not give the UK Government time to boost Pension Credit take-up to a level that will reduce the effects of this measure. It will leave many older people on low incomes facing a cold and dangerous winter.
The savings the government will make by axing the payment for all, will be negligible compared to what it will cost them from the devastation caused as a result of it, never mind the extra administration costs for what is essentially a ‘means test.’ Evidence shows that cutting the incomes of older people struggling to make ends meet will inevitably put further strain on the NHS and social care as more are unable to heat their homes and eat hot food.
Rather than leaving older people out in the cold, we believe the Government should not make this policy change now, and instead work with others to ensure older people living on low incomes receive the financial support they need.
Please support my call to press the Chancellor to reverse this harmful decision,
Yours sincerely,
INSERT YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS FOR A REPLY.
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