Pensioners miss out on winter payments

MORE than 6,000 pensioners are missing out on an extra £100 to heat their homes during the big freeze as they fail to claim benefits to which they are entitled.

Cold-weather payments are triggered when the average temperature falls to 0ºC, or is forecast to, for seven consecutive days and gives those most in need an extra £25 per trigger to help to pay their increased bills.

As of last night, four triggers had been made at Bingley weather station where Oldham’s temperature is recorded.

Figures from the Department for Work and Pensions show 2,925 pensioners in Oldham East and Saddleworth and 3,240 in Oldham West and Royton are not claiming for pension credit, despite being entitled to it. An additional 3,455 pensioners are missing out in Ashton-under-Lyne, which includes Hollinwood and Failsworth.

Along with people claiming pension credit, those on income support, income-based jobseeker’s allowance or income-related employment and support allowance or disability allowance may qualify for the payments.

Liberal Democrat shadow work and pensions secretary Steve Webb, who obtained the figures, said the Government must make more effort to identify pensioners who are missing out.

He said: “It is a scandal that pensioners on the breadline are missing out on these payments, worth an estimated £42.5 million.

“Fuel prices are at an all-time high, making cold-weather payments all the more important to people already struggling on a poverty pension.

“Labour has failed pensioners by creating a complicated system that makes it difficult for them to get the help they desperately need.”

Nationally 1.7 million pensioners entitled to claim pension credit are not doing so.

DWP Minister Helen Goodman said: “We want pensioners to receive all the help they are entitled to, which is why we have simplified the claims process for pension credit.

“It only takes one simple phone call to claim and you can apply for housing benefit and council tax benefit at the same time. You will not even need to fill in a form.

“Each week we make 13,000 home visits to pensioners who request them and we have been continuing with these even in the adverse weather this month.

“There are two ways we are helping this winter — with winter fuel payments of £250 for all 60s and over, or £400 for the over-80s, and cold-weather payments of £25. Domestic fuel prices rose by about 25 per cent in 2008-09 so we trebled the value of the CWP to ensure they would cover heating bills.”

More than £260 million has been paid out in cold-weather payments since November with about 9.7 million payments to about 4.2 million claimants.

In addition more than 12.3 million older people benefit from winter fuel payments totalling £2.7 billion, Mrs Goodman said.

Last year, Government increased the cold weather payments from £8.50 to £25 a week. For more information on pension credit call 0800 99 1234.