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- Some expatriate pensioners living in the EU are still entitled to the winter fuel benefit
Some expat pensioners living in the EU will still be entitled to winter fuel allowances, while millions of people living in Britain will be left without them.
Last month, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves announced that pensioners in England and Wales who do not receive pension credits or other means-tested benefits will no longer receive winter fuel payments worth between £100 and £300. The changes will come into effect next month.
The Labour Party has claimed the move will save around £1.4bn a year.
Because of the Brexit withdrawal agreement, some pensioners living in the EU will still be able to claim the winter fuel allowance, even if their wealth exceeds the thresholds recently imposed by Reeves for England and Wales.
Disparity: Expat pensioners living in the EU will still be entitled to the £300 winter fuel allowance, while millions living in Britain will be left without it under Rachel Reeves’ plan
British expats living in the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland are guaranteed the allowance under the Brexit withdrawal agreement.
According to The Telegraph, around 35,000 pensioners on the continent are in line to receive the winter fuel subsidy payment.
On Friday, Ofgem revealed that the average household’s annual energy bill will rise by £149 in October under the new price cap.
People who use the average amount of gas and electricity will pay £1,717 a year, a 10 per cent increase.
On Tuesday, Sir Kier Starmer said the decision to scrap universal fuel payments for the winter was necessary to patch what he said was a £22bn “hole” in the public finances.
He said the measure was “necessary to repair public finances.”
Reeves also defended the move, saying this week: “It was a decision I had to make in incredibly difficult circumstances to put our public finances on a firm footing.”
The Government has today summoned energy chiefs for talks on helping vulnerable households through the winter months.
The heads of Centrica, EDF, E.On, Octopus Energy, Scottish Power, Good Energy, Rebel Energy, Ovo, So Energy, Ecotricity and Utility Warehouse will meet at the roundtable with the Government.
The heads of Citizens Advice, Energy UK and Ofgem will also attend the roundtable.
Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said restricting winter fuel payments to those receiving pension credit or other benefits was “reckless and misguided” and “signals disaster for pensioners on low and modest incomes”.
Age said it planned to fight the decision and launched a petition on the issue.
Citizens’ Advice chief executive Dame Clare Moriarty has called for a “social tariff” in the form of reduced bills for those least able to afford them.
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