All but the poorest pensioners will no longer receive the winter fuel allowance after MPs voted to make cuts to the payments. After a Conservative motion to prevent the change was defeated by 348 votes to 228, only those in receipt of benefits such as pension credit, universal credit or income support will receive the £200-300 payment to help with their heating bills.
Here, three pensioners tell us what they think about the vote, how the loss of the allowance will affect them, and their concerns about the coming winter.
‘They’ve robbed us pensioners’
I was made redundant from my job in construction when I was 58 and so I’ve received the winter fuel payment every year since then, which has helped pay for the gas and electricity bills. My wife has a part-time job which means we can’t get pension credit as it takes our household income over the [eligibility] limit.
I feel like I’m being penalised for working my whole life. I’ve applied for painting, decorating and handyman jobs to earn a bit of money but employers don’t want to give them to someone my age. Now we’ll either have to turn the heating off or cut down on food.
I’ve always been a Conservative voter but last year I voted for Reform. The last few elections before that I didn’t vote for anyone as I was fed up with politics in general. The Conservatives under Boris Johnson were a shambles and Partygate was shocking, but I didn’t expect Labour to go ahead with this.
God knows what’s going to happen in the budget in October but they’ve [the government] robbed us pensioners. John, 75, Hartlepool
‘I used to always vote Labour, but not any more’
I’ve been receiving the winter fuel payment since I retired in my 60s but my weekly income from my full state pension and a very small occupational pension takes me over the threshold for pension credit. I’ve regularly checked if I can get pension credit but have always been a few pounds over. This will be the first time I won’t receive the winter fuel payment.
I’m worried how the cold will affect my mental and physical health. I live in an uninsulated rented cottage and receive housing benefit to help. I’m already wearing a thermal vest and all my winter clothes – in truth, I can’t afford to put the heating on.
It’s quite ridiculous that a Labour government that’s meant to be on the side of people is making these cuts when a Tory government gave much more generous allowances to pensioners [eg the £300 cost of living payment given to pensioners in 2022 who received the winter fuel payment].
Why [Rachel] Reeves has chosen to worsen the living conditions of poor pensioners is beyond me and I find the decision shocking. I used to always vote Labour but not any more – I don’t think [Keir] Starmer or Reeves have a socialist bone in their bodies. Juliet, 75, retired teacher, Northampton
‘I’ve always given the money to charity but there are still people who need the payment and won’t be getting it’
My husband and I have been very fortunate in old age. He wasn’t born in this country so doesn’t receive a state pension but he is an artist and his art is selling. I receive a small pension and have been getting the winter fuel payment, but won’t be any longer.
Because we don’t need it I’ve always given the money I received to charity. Where we live in Oxford there are huge disparities between people and I think it’s important to donate to food banks and charities supporting those who are homeless.
We are obviously not typical of most pensioners and I’m pleased that we and others who don’t need it won’t be getting the payment any more, but I feel very strongly about the way it’s being implemented. I’m more and more dismayed that there are still many older people who need the winter fuel payment and won’t be getting it because of the threshold [for eligibility]. I think limiting the payment to people earning above a certain tax threshold would be much clearer. Katherine, 78, retired publisher, Oxford