Pension Credit: 'Being £2 over threshold left me £500 short'

A retired office worker claimed he was £500 per month worse off as a result of being marginally above the Pension Credit threshold.

Arthur Bowling, from Waterloo on Merseyside, said receiving just £2.60 a week above the £218 limit meant he was ineligible for means-tested benefits including the winter fuel payment.

The 66-year-old said he was having to use savings to pay his rent and did not know how he could afford his heating bills this winter.

An Age Concern spokeswoman told the BBC Mr Bowling should be eligible to claim housing benefit provided he had savings of less than £16,000.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer previously said means testing winter fuel payments could help reduce a £22bn "black hole" in the country's finances.

The state pension age in the UK is currently 66, but eligible 65-year-olds can apply for Pension Credit up to four months before reaching that age.

Those receiving it may be eligible for a winter fuel payment of either £200 or £300, depending on their birth date and circumstances between 16 and 22 September 2024.

People receiving other benefits, such as Universal Credit or child tax credit, may also be eligible.

Mr Bowling, who said he was in intensive care with Covid-19 for a month during the coronavirus pandemic in 2021, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service he was "afraid for others and I’m afraid for myself".

"After spending so long in hospital, I need the warmth and now I don’t know whether I’ll be able to get through the next few months," he said.

He said he had been relying on the winter fuel payment to help him in the coming months, but was now dreading the change in the weather and was uncertain how he would stay warm.

He added he was "not one of these supposedly rich pensioners" and felt like the government was telling him it would only help him when he was left with nothing.

Age Concern calculated that unless Mr Bowling had more than £16,000 in savings, though, he would still qualify for housing benefit.

The charity said he would effectively only have to pay an extra £1.69 per week towards his rent.

About 10 million of the current 11.5 million people receiving the winter fuel payment are expected to stop receiving them when the means test is introduced.

But the government said about 780,000 pensioners in England and Wales will lose it because they are not expected to apply for the benefits that would make them eligible for it.

The Department for Work and Pensions estimates were released under freedom of information laws on Friday.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the decision in July.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer previously said it could help plug the £22bn "black hole" in the national finances, but the Conservatives and charities have expressed fears it could leave some pensioners cold this winter.

Clarification 16 September: A comment from Age Concern was added making it clear that someone with savings of less than £16,000 should be able to apply for Housing Benefit and the headline was amended.

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