Join us in taking a stand against the changes to Winter Fuel Payment!

The Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has announced that, from this autumn, Winter Fuel Payments will end for those not on Pension Credit or means tested benefits. But there are up to 1.2 million people who are eligible for Pension Credit but currently aren't receiving it. This decision threatens to plunge thousands and thousands of older people further into poverty as they face a double whammy - missing out on a potentially life-changing income top-up, and a further cut in their income with the loss of their Winter Fuel Payment.

Please take 1 minute to sign our open letter.

We also know that there are many older people just missing out on Pension Credit, but who rely on the Winter Fuel Payment to live well. We're launching our open letter to bring us all together to take action to protect older people in financial hardship.

Please join others across the UK and add your name to our open letter against making these changes to the Winter Fuel Payment now.

Together, we can stand against these changes and ensure that financially insecure older people have the support they need this winter. And that all starts with signing your name.

Click here to read our open letter

Dear Mel Stride,

We the undersigned are calling on you, as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, to take urgent action to support older people in financial hardship who are eligible for, but not receiving, Pension Credit.

Many older people are struggling to make ends meet, and it’s having a profound impact on their ability to cope with spiralling costs.

The continuation of the Energy Price Guarantee at the same level for a further three months is welcome and will provide older people with some short-term relief. However, even if energy prices fall as forecast in the summer, they are still predicted to be almost 70% higher than in the winter months of 2021/22. Other support, such as the £900 Cost of Living payment is available for those on Pension Credit, but the reality is that hundreds of thousands of people are at risk of missing out on this vital extra income. This is because they do not receive Pension Credit even though they are entitled to it, and as a result, older people in this situation are faced with impossible choices to make ends meet. It’s essential that action is taken to support this group of people to receive the income they’re entitled to, before they miss out.

Over the last decade, roughly £28 billion in Pension Credit has failed to reach those who are entitled to it. It is highly worrying that the Government’s most up to date statistics relate to 2019/20. This means we don’t have a full picture of just how many people are currently missing out on Pension Credit, in order to be able to target support in the right place.

The most recent figures estimated up to 850,000 people were missing out on Pension Credit they were eligible for. For the thousands of individuals behind this number, Pension Credit is the difference between skipping meals, going without heating or turning on the lights, and being able to get by.

The Government has made some progress to raise awareness of Pension Credit, but there is a long way to go and so much more the Government could and should do. That’s why we need a bold Pension Credit uptake strategy, led by the DWP, and backed by the latest evidence so that the Government reach the older people who desperately need this support.

Polling we commissioned from YouGov shows that there is support for this amongst MPs from all parties – over three fifths of MPs agree that the DWP should publish a strategic action plan to increase Pension Credit uptake.

The same polling also found that over two thirds of MPs agree that to increase Pension Credit uptake, government marketing should be targeted at those on low incomes.

As the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, to secure the best outcome for the much-needed work your department is currently doing to raise awareness of Pension Credit, we need you to commit to delivering a strategic action plan to increase Pension Credit uptake and help thousands of older people in financial hardship to access the support they are entitled to.

Yours sincerely,

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