State pensioners have been warned they are set to lose as much as £770 for the winter as of January 2025.
It has not been a good winter for state pensioner finances and with today’s announcement of the Ofgem price cap changes, the exact amount pensioners are losing through the winter has been confirmed.
Through a combination of a loss of benefits, the scrapping of payments and two energy bill increases in a row, state pensioners will lose as much as £770 when January is taken into account.
First, all state pensioners are losing £300 from a Cost of Living payment which has been axed.
Last year and the year before, pensioners were sent a £300 Cost of Living payment by the DWP. Although the payment was only announced for 2022 and 2023, the government took the decision not to renew it for 2024.
Then, as is well documented, most state pensioners will no longer receive a Winter Fuel Payment, which is £200 for under 75 and £300 for over-75s, meaning about 10 million pensioners who used to get the money will no longer be eligible, and the rest need to claim Pension Credit to get it.
That’s already £600, and then Ofgem has increased energy prices for this winter.
In October, the price cap went up by £148, or 10 percent, and today it was confirmed that prices will rise by another 1.2 percent, or £21, from January, for a typical use household over the next 12 months.
Taken altogether, that’s £770 state pensioners will lose out on.
Next April, of course, the state pension will increase due to the Triple Lock by up to £470 for pensioners on the full new state pension with a full National Insurance record, but that won’t help this winter.
Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said: “Older people, struggling without their winter fuel payment, who were praying for a reduction in energy prices to help them in the New Year, will be bitterly disappointed today.
“The news that the energy price cap is instead slightly rising is the latest in a series of blows for pensioners living on a low or modest income, who do not receive Pension Credit because they don’t claim it or are not eligible.
“There are millions of older people in this situation and we know that many are hoping against hope that something will turn up to help ease their situation over the next few months, when the weather is at its coldest.
“If you are an older person for whom every penny counts, managing your energy bills until the rise in your State Pension starts coming through from April just got harder.”