Latest news with #meansTest
Sky News
2 days ago
- Business
- Sky News
More pensioners to get winter fuel payments this year - but confusion remains over who will qualify
Rachel Reeves has confirmed more pensioners will be eligible for winter fuel payments this year - but confusion remains over how the threshold could be changed. Sir Keir Starmer failed to provide clarity on what the new means-test could be during Wednesday's PMQs, which came moments after the chancellor's surprise announcement at a Q&A in Manchester. Following a speech about her upcoming spending review, Ms Reeves said details on the government's winter fuel U-turn will be fleshed out "as soon as we possibly can". She added: "People should be in no doubt, the means test will increase and more people will get winter fuel payment this winter." However the prime minister was unable to say how many pensioners would have the benefit restored when grilled on the matter by Kemi Badenoch in the House of Commons. The Tory leader claimed the chancellor "is rushing her plans because she just realised when winter is". She asked: "On behalf of the pensioners who want to know, can the prime minister be clear with us here and now: how many of the 10 million people who lost their winter fuel payments will get it back?" Sir Keir didn't answer the question, only saying the government will "look again at the eligibility for winter fuel and of course we'll set out how we pay for it". 0:33 Axing universal winter fuel payments was one of the first things Labour did in government. The payment was aimed at helping pensioners pay for higher fuel bills during the colder months, but now only those in receipt of pension credit or other benefits get it. Means-testing it meant the number of pensioners eligible was slashed from 11.4 million to 1.5 million. Labour said it was necessary because of a £22bn blackhole left behind by the Conservatives, which they claimed was larger than they were expecting when they entered government. The change was expected to save around £1.3bn in 2024/25 and £1.5bn in subsequent years. Ministers now say decisions taken to stabilise the economy mean the eligibility can be extended. However, the U-turn is largely seen as a response to the party's drubbing at the local elections, which Labour MPs blamed on the unpopularity of the policy on the door step. 1:22 It wasn't clear until today whether the changes would come into effect before this winter, as the funding is expected to be laid out officially in the autumn statement in November. Pensions minister Torsten Bell today confirmed to the Work and Pensions Committee that there is no prospect of returning to a universal winter fuel payment, saying "most people agree it's not a good idea to have a system of paying a few hundred pounds to millionaires". Last month, former Labour prime minister Gordon Brown said governments should be fair to pensioners but one solution could be excluding only those on the top rate of income tax from winter fuel payments. Universal winter fuel payments were introduced by Mr Brown when he was chancellor in 1997, in the first year of the New Labour government.
Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Times
Winter fuel payments back but not for millionaires, says minister
Winter fuel payments will be restored this winter, but wealthier pensioners will not get them, ministers have said. Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, promised that 'more people will get winter fuel payments', and said details would be set out soon. She said there would still be a 'means test' but pledged to introduce it in time for this winter, despite concern that ageing government computer systems would struggle to adapt thresholds in time. Torsten Bell, the pensions minister, ruled out restoring universal payments to all pensioners. 'Most people — 95 per cent of people — agree that it's not a good idea that we have a system paying a few hundred pounds to millionaires. And so we're not going to be continuing with that,' he told the work and pensions committee. 'Is there any prospect of a universal winter fuel payment? The answer is no.' In one of her first acts in office, Reeves stripped winter fuel payments from all but the poorest pensioners to save £1.5 billion. But the move proved so politically toxic that Sir Keir Starmer announced a U-turn last month, without giving details of how many of the ten million pensioners who lost payments would have them restored. Reeves said that the economy was now 'in a better shape' than when she scrapped payments last year, adding in a speech in Rochdale: 'We have also listened to the concerns that people had about the level of the means test, and so we will be making changes to that.' • Spending review cuts could leave Keir Starmer's pledges in tatters Ministers had previously suggested changes to ageing computer systems may not be in place in time for this winter. But Reeves promised that new rules 'will be in place so that pensioners are paid this coming winter, and we will announce the detail of that and the level of that as soon as we possibly can'. She added: 'People should be in no doubt that the means test will increase and more people will get winter fuel payment this winter.' Bell suggested that millions of higher-income pensioners would not have their payments restored. 'We are committed to the principle that there should be some means testing — that those on the highest income should not be receiving winter fuel payments,' he said. 'My priority is those on lower incomes who have missed out … All of us would have heard from people on lower incomes who did not receive a winter fuel payment this year.' At present, payments are restricted to those claiming pension credit, which is given to pensioners with income below £11,500 for a single person or £18,000 for a couple. Bell said ministers were 'looking at all of the policy options for how eligibility can be extended', including taxing payments. • He dismissed calls to raise the pension credit threshold, however, saying it would be 'very expensive' and would not lead to many people getting winter fuel payments restored. 'If the objective was for more people to receive the winter fuel payment, you cannot achieve it via that mechanism, because you would only get a very small increase in the pension credit threshold for any given level of spending,' he said. He also suggested that a tapered threshold, where payments are gradually withdrawn, was not a preferred option for payments of £200-£300 a year, saying they were 'more bureaucratic' to apply. 'Tapers involve more information being held by the state, they involve more complexity,' he said. 'We obviously do need to think about the requirements to administer that, the costs of doing so relative to the benefits.' Other options include widening eligibility to pensioners claiming housing benefit or disability benefit. The Resolution Foundation, where Bell was previously chief executive, has estimated this would cost £300 million a year and restore payments to 1.3 million pensioners. However, Bell downplayed the importance of winter fuel payments in protecting pensioners, dismissing claims that withdrawing them had led to more dying of cold. 'We saw negative excess deaths, so fewer deaths than normal [last winter],' he said. He said tackling long waits for NHS treatment and poorly insulated homes were far better ways of helping pensioners who suffered because they were unable to afford heating. 'The biggest letdown of older generations in Britain is the state of our health service,' he said. 'We're not going to solve all of that within the social security system. We've got to deal with that in the health and care system more broadly.' As Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, battles the Treasury to mitigate cuts to his £6.6 billion warm home plans, Bell said a 2013 cut to insulation was 'among the bigger mistakes' of the past 20 years and meant 'a lot of people are living in homes that are not high-enough quality'.
The Independent
3 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
More pensioners will receive winter fuel payments
More pensioners will receive the winter fuel allowance this winter – but payments will not be universal, the Government has said. Chancellor Rachel Reeves told reporters that 'more people will get winter fuel payment this winter', adding that further details will be announced 'as soon as we possibly can'. She said: ' People should be in no doubt that the means test will increase and more people will get winter fuel payment this winter.' Meanwhile, pensions minister Torsten Bell told MPs that, while more pensioners will be eligible, there is no prospect of returning to universal winter fuel payments. Speaking to the Work and Pensions Committee, Mr Bell said: 'Directly on your question of is there any prospect of a universal winter fuel payment, the answer is no, the principle I think most people, 95% of people, agree, that it's not a good idea that we have a system paying a few hundreds of pounds to millionaires, and so we're not going to be continuing with that. 'But we will be looking at making more pensioners eligible.' Mr Bell said he did not have 'lots to add' to what Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had said recently about the allowance. He told the MPs: 'Of course the announcement, as and when it's made, will be made to the House.' Sir Keir recently signalled a partial U-turn over the Government's decision to strip winter fuel payments from millions of pensioners. The Prime Minister said 'as the economy improves', he wanted to look at widening eligibility for the payments worth up to £300. But officials have been unable to say how many more pensioners would be eligible. The decision to means-test the previously universal payment was one of the first announcements by Chancellor Rachel Reeves after Labour's landslide election victory last year, and it has been widely blamed for the party's collapse in support. The Government has insisted the policy was necessary to help stabilise the public finances, allowing the improvements in the economic picture which Sir Keir said could result in the partial reversal of the measure. On July 29 2024, the Government announced that from winter 2024, winter fuel payments would be dependent on receiving another means-tested benefit, as part of measures to fill a 'black hole' in the public finances. This meant the number of pensioners receiving the payment was reduced by around 10 million, from 11.4 million to 1.5 million. Pension credit is the primary benefit by which pensioners can receive the winter fuel payment. The credit tops up incomes for poorer pensioners and acts as a gateway to additional support, including the winter fuel payment. Asked what groups who are currently missing out on winter fuel payments he would like to include again, if possible, Mr Bell told the committee: 'We are committed to the principle that there should be some means-testing and that those on the highest incomes shouldn't be receiving winter fuel payments in the context of wider decisions we have to make – and fairness is an important part of that. 'You can then take from that that my priority is those who are on lower incomes but have missed out.' He told the MPs: 'I'm not getting into anything about the operation of that but just, you know, I think all of us will have heard from people on lower incomes who didn't receive winter fuel payment this year and I understand the points they've raised. And so we'd like to see wider eligibility.'
The Sun
3 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
Vital winter fuel payments will kick in THIS YEAR raising hope for millions… but some pensioners may not be eligible
RACHEL Reeves has raised hopes for millions of pensioners by confirming that changes to winter fuel payments will kick in this year. The Chancellor confirmed that the benefit will be reinstated for many this winter as officials thrash out how many more elderly people will receive it. 1 Treasury staff are understood to be working on an announcement which will come as early as next week's Spending Review - following last week's u-turn. Speaking in Rochdale, Ms Reeves said: 'We have also listened to the concerns that people had about the level of the means test. So we will be making changes to that. "They will be in place so that pensioners will be paid for this coming winter." However, pensioners are being warned that not everyone in the age cohort will be eligible. The warning shot was fired after Sir Keir Starmer last week insisted that that more pensioners would receive up to £300 a year. The government brought an end to the universal winter fuel benefits last July within a month of coming into power. But when pressed about whether the winter fuel payment would return across the board, Pensions Minister Torsten Bell said the answer was 'no'. He said: 'The principle I think most people, 95% of people, agree, that it's not a good idea that we have a system paying a few hundreds of pounds to millionaires, and so we're not going to be continuing with that. 'But we will be looking at making more pensioners eligible.' He added that he did't have 'lots to add' above what the Prime Minister has said in recent days. The decision comes after Labour's support partially collapsed in last month's local elections - with much support heading to Nigel Farage's Reform UK. The PM paved the way for a partial u-turn over the government's decision to strip winter fuel payments from millions of pensioners. The Prime Minister said 'as the economy improves', he wanted to look at widening eligibility for the payments worth up to £300. However, officials have been unable to say how many more pensioners would be eligible. The decision last year to axe the universal payment meant the number of pensioners receiving the payment was reduced by around 10 million, from 11.4 million to 1.5 million. Pension credit is the primary benefit by which pensioners can receive the winter fuel payment. The credit tops up incomes for poorer pensioners and acts as a gateway to additional support, including the winter fuel payment.
