Martin Lewis is urging the Government to write to pensioners who are eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment – and says they are at risk of missing out on this essential benefit
Money-saving guru Martin Lewis issued a stern warning about a DWP rule that could be leaving state pensioners out of pocket by £3,900 each.
On his ITV show ‘The Martin Lewis Money Show’, Mr Lewis didn’t hold back as he addressed an audience just hours before the Autumn Budget announcement, putting pressure on Labour Chancellor Rachel Reeves to take action. In a poignant moment, a recent widow inquired whether she could receive pension credit as she navigated the loss of her partner.
Martin’s response highlighted the dire situation: “You have to be on an income of under £11,400 to be eligible. It’s a very tight means test and is critically underclaimed.” His crusade for action continued even during his stint on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, where, in the midst of an interview with Lisa Nandy, he exclaimed, “The poorest pensioners, the poorest on under £11,400 – you believe they should get Pension Credit and Winter Fuel Payments but they’re not going to claim.
“They’re the hardest to reach, you’re not writing individual letters to them, you’re not linking it to Attendance Allowance and Housing Benefit. There’s lots you could do. So, to try and talk about ‘we’re targeting the poorest’ the truth is you’re not targeting the poorest. Why aren’t you writing them bloody letters? ” he raged.
“The truth is you have to accept you’re not going to reach them because these are the people that are hardest to reach. So how are you going to protect them? You’re taking an uplift of 115 per cent, you’ve gone from 20,000 a month claiming Pension Credit to 40,000, but there are 780,000 people,” he pointed out.
“You would need at least an exponential rise in the number of people claiming Pension Credit for those prisoners to claim this year. We have to accept. You have to accept there will be many hundreds of thousands of the poorest pensioners under £11,400 income you will not reach this year.”
“You are taking money out of their hands. Do you accept the truth, the reality is that’s what will practically happen? I’m saying it, Age UK are saying it, others are saying it. So let’s be honest, you’re willing to accept that collateral damage of hundreds of thousands of poorest pensioners, many with dementia, not getting the Winter Fuel Payment.”
Sign the Save the Winter Fuel Payment for struggling pensioners petition here.
