The Liberal Democrats are urging the government to extend the deadline for applying for winter fuel payments, warning that tens of thousands of older people could miss out due to a backlog of unprocessed claims. With the deadline for applying for this year’s winter fuel payment set for Saturday, the party is calling for an extension until 28 February to ensure that vulnerable pensioners receive the support they need.
The winter fuel payment, which helps older people with energy costs, has been limited this year to those receiving Pension Credit, a benefit for low-income pensioners. Since Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced in July that only Pension Credit recipients would be eligible for the payment, applications for the benefit have surged. However, as of mid-November, thousands of eligible pensioners had not yet applied. The government has acknowledged that, as of the latest figures, there is a backlog of 91,000 unprocessed claims, with about 9,000 being processed each week.
The Liberal Democrats argue that the current deadline of Saturday is too soon, given the backlog and the complexity of the application process. Sir Ed Davey, leader of the Lib Dems, said, “Older people across the country are having to make heart-breaking decisions over whether to heat their homes or eat over the Christmas period. Ministers need to do everything they can to limit the damage of their wrong-headed decision to slash Winter Fuel Payments for millions of pensioners.”
The government has launched a campaign to encourage eligible pensioners to apply for Pension Credit, resulting in 150,000 new applications between 29 July and 17 November. However, this represents only a small fraction of the estimated 880,000 pensioners still eligible for the payment. Age UK, a charity supporting older people, has reported being overwhelmed with requests for assistance with the application process.
Caroline Abrahams, Director at Age UK, told the BBC, “For some older people, they still haven’t heard about pension credit or the form is too overwhelming. There is help available, but of course, the system is overwhelmed at the moment.”
Analysis by BBC Verify suggests that due to the backlog, tens of thousands of pensioners are unlikely to receive their Winter Fuel Payment before the end of the year. In response, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has deployed 500 additional staff to speed up the processing of claims.
A government spokesperson emphasized that over one million pensioners will still receive the payment, and urged anyone who thinks they may be entitled to Pension Credit to apply before December 21. All eligible claims can be backdated, and successful claims before the deadline will receive their payment.
