{"id":132152,"date":"2024-09-11T09:02:31","date_gmt":"2024-09-11T09:02:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/09\/11\/winter-fuel-payment-cut-i-will-miss-out-by-3\/"},"modified":"2024-09-11T09:02:31","modified_gmt":"2024-09-11T09:02:31","slug":"winter-fuel-payment-cut-i-will-miss-out-by-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/09\/11\/winter-fuel-payment-cut-i-will-miss-out-by-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Winter fuel payment cut: ‘I will miss out by \u00a33’"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Winter<\/div>


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\"BBCBBC<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Dawn Matthews will miss out on the winter fuel tax payment<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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“I think I will be working until I die, because that payment meant I could pay the bills.”<\/p>\n

Dawn Matthews, 68, from Hampshire, works from home for 18 hours a week in an administrative job for the NHS. <\/p>\n

Because of her income, she misses out on being eligible for the Government’s pensioner’s winter fuel tax payment by less than \u00a33. <\/p>\n

She says the government’s planned cuts will force her to \u201csit in the cold\u201d of her home.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“I had cancer and my immunity isn\u2019t the same,” she said. “Doctors have said what were mild illnesses before could kill me.<\/p>\n

“I am almost 69 and I have to continue to work literally just to live. I really wish I could retire – but I think I will be working until I die.”<\/p>\n

She is just one of many pensioners who have told the BBC they are very worried about the scrapped payment.<\/p>\n

More than 9 million pensioners will lose out on the annual payment of between \u00a3200 and \u00a3300 a year under the proposals, which would see money only paid to those on low incomes who receive certain benefits.<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has stood by the proposals<\/a> ahead of a vote on the policy in Parliament on Tuesday, which Labour is expected to win.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Sandra, 66, from Durham said she had just \u00a34 left in her account, and had to borrow money from her brother last month to pay the bills.<\/p>\n

She told the BBC she got through last winter by wearing a hat and scarf in doors, and using hot water bottles, warm beverages and extra bedding to keep the cold away.<\/p>\n

In the coming months, Sandra plans to visit public spaces to keep warm.<\/p>\n

“My local library is open a couple of days a week, so I’ll go there. I don’t have a lot to complain about, because I don’t go hungry – but I’m sure some do.”<\/p>\n

She said she feels the “vulnerable” are being punished by the cuts.<\/p>\n

“I pay tax already and have nothing left each month before the next state pension payment, which is my main source of income, ” she said. “\u00a3215 every month goes towards council tax and energy bills. I don’t drive, eat out, go on holiday or buy new clothes – I can’t do anything extra.”<\/p>\n

Labour has insisted that the cut – worth about \u00a31.5bn – is necessary to fill an alleged \u00a322bn “black hole” in the budget left by the previous Conservative government.<\/p>\n

The Conservatives say Labour is exaggerating the state of the public finances to lay the ground for tax rises in the October budget.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Martin<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Martin Hewgill, from Sussex, thinks the fuel payment should be better means tested<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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The winter fuel payment was a universal benefit, meaning it was paid to all pensioners, regardless of their income or wealth.<\/p>\n

Martin Hewgill, 75, from Sussex, has been receiving his winter fuel payment for nine years, and says there are “much more deserving people” who need the money.<\/p>\n

“I receive a state and private pension, which I’ve been really privileged to have, but I haven’t ever needed the winter fuel payment.”<\/p>\n

He says it would be better spent on those narrowly missing out on it.<\/p>\n

“There must be tens of thousands of people who would have better use of this payment,” he said.<\/p>\n

“I’ve had no financial problems since I’ve retired. I’ve never needed it. It just goes to show this hasn’t properly been means tested.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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On Monday, Downing Street said there are no plans to give further mitigations to pensioners who have lost on out on the payment. <\/p>\n

As is stands, the government is planning to restrict winter fuel payments to only those pensioners who are receiving pension credit.<\/p>\n

The prime minister said he would “guarantee” the state pension increase would surpass any reduction in the winter fuel payment.<\/p>\n

According to the Office for National Statistics, the full state pension will go up by \u00a3460 a year<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But the state pension increase will not rise come into effect until April, and the \u00a3460 will be spread over the following year.<\/p>\n

Winter fuel payments are usually made in November or December, leaving a five month gap for people who might be depending on the contribution.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Denise<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Denise Mardell says she’s missing out on ‘hundreds of pounds’ because of the cut <\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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And some pensioners are losing out on being eligible for the payment by mere pounds. <\/p>\n

Denise Mardell, 70 from Nottinghamshire, narrowly misses out on the allowance, and says she will have to sell her car to make ends meet.<\/p>\n

“There\u2019s no way I can afford to maintain it without this money,” she said.<\/p>\n

“I\u2019m relying on buses – I can luckily get to most places I need to go to. But it limits me so much more.<\/p>\n

“That \u00a32 means I’m missing out on hundreds of pounds – I’m just over the threshold. It feels like I’m being punished for working hard.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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There has been speculation about a potential rebellion by some Labour MPs<\/a> to the policy, with the vote on Tuesday signalling another early test of the prime minister’s authority following Labour’s general election win in July.<\/p>\n

Conservative leader Rishi Sunak accused ministers of trying to “fast-track cuts” to vital support for pensioners “to fund an inflation-busting pay rise for train drivers”.<\/p>\n

Ahead of the vote, Chancellor Rachel Reeves addressed Labour MPs’ concerns at a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party on Monday evening.<\/p>\n

Additional reporting by Victoria Park-Froud, Nabiha Ahmed and BBC UGC.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n


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BBC Dawn Matthews will miss out on the winter fuel tax payment “I think I will be working until I die, because that payment meant I could pay the bills.” Dawn Matthews, 68, from Hampshire, works from home for 18 hours a week in an administrative job for the NHS. Because of her income, she […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":132153,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/bbcx\/grey-placeholder.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[603],"tags":[3177,2363,8675,2802],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132152"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=132152"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132152\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":132154,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132152\/revisions\/132154"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/132153"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=132152"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=132152"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=132152"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}