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One third of people back restoring winter fuel payments to all pensioners – poll

By Mark Mansfield
An elderly lady with her electric fire on. Image: Peter Byrne/PA Wire

One third of people think winter fuel payments should be restored to all pensioners, a survey has suggested after Sir Keir Starmer’s partial U-turn on restricting the benefit.

The Prime Minister said this week that he wanted to look at widening eligibility for the payments worth up to £300 after Labour limited who could receive the payment last year.

But officials have not said how many more pensioners would be eligible or if the policy would be altered in time for next winter.

A YouGov poll carried out on Thursday showed 44% said the benefit should still be means tested but offered to more pensioners than it was currently, while some 7% wanted the policy kept as it was now.

And 33% backed reverting to the previous system where it was universal.

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Means test

The decision to means test the payment was one of the first announcements by Chancellor Rachel Reeves after Labour’s landslide election victory last year, and has been widely blamed for the party’s collapse in support.

Sir Keir was meeting with devolved national and regional leaders on Friday.

Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney was expected to call for the winter fuel payment to be fully restored for pensioners during bilateral talks with the Prime Minister.

Welsh Labour leader Baroness Eluned Morgan said she wanted the “majority of pensioners” to get the winter fuel allowance.

Asked on the BBC’s Political Thinking podcast if she would back taking it away from high-rate taxpayers but leaving it in place for everyone else, she said: “That’s probably where I’d be.”

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5 comments

Barnaby

A million pensioners now pay the higher rate of income tax meaning their retirement income is over £50k. Not only should they not get the Christmas wine fund, they should not get state pension benefits and use the savings to increase payments to eradicate pensioner poverty.

Reply
Howie

You going to pay back to them the contributions they made on a promise of state pension? I think the cutoff should have been tapered higher, near minimum wage level and account taken of long term illnesses that are exacerbated by cold weather not just for pensioners because some disabled people lost it as well. I am 70 pay income tax worked all my life from 15, have a 51yr NI record, but don't expect to get WFA, I gave mine previously to a food bank of which many have indicated a loss of income since its demise, as it stands you only get it if on old state pension and pension credit. Denmark recently increased pension age to 70 should we consider that?.

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Barnaby

You don't get a refund on your car insurance if you don't need it so there's no reason to expect a payout on national insurance payments if you don't need it. Making sure all pensioners are comfortable should give everyone with a solid NI record a warm feeling, even those who didn't need state support in the end. Means testing and a more generous pension would remove the need for pension credits and WFA. Wealthier people could still benefit later in their retirement if they burn through their savings with a few extravagant years until they become eligible. And I'd rather see the pension age abolished and replaced with a fitness for work test. That was the original aim of state pensions, to support people when they could no longer support themselves. We should go back to basics.

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Rob

Elton John and Paul McCartney should get the WFA? Yep. That makes sense.

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Brychan

Everyone agrees the Winter Fuel Allowance should be paid to the least well off pensioners but the 'claiming pension credit' measure is wrong as those who just get the full state pension miss out but wealthy pensioners should not get it. The simple answer is to pay it to every household in council tax band A-C occupied only by state pensioners. It's simple to administer. Also allows pensioners who keep active like doing some part time work do not lose it. Paid through the local authority, as was the case during Covid. A long term solution, targeted, and encourages pensioners who rattle around in big houses which are harder to keep warm to downsize upon retirement. Also means pensioners wealthy enough to own second homes to be excluded.

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Everyone agrees the Winter Fuel Allowance should be paid to the least well off pensioners but the 'claiming pension credit' measure is wrong as those who just get the full state pension miss out but wealthy pensioners should not get it. The...

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