Wandsworth Council has announced the Wandsworth winter support payment to ease the blow on pensioners impacted by the winter fuel payment cuts.
The extra money is aimed at pensioners who are on council tax reduction and not receiving pension credit, which is one of the criteria to get help in the new means-tested system.
This approach identifies those worst impacted by the loss of the winter fuel payment as they are receiving other benefits.
For eligible Wandsworth residents, the council will provide £300 for those over 80 and £200 for those under.
Angela Ireland, the cabinet member for finance at Wandsworth Council said: “We want nobody to be worse off this year.
“You can count on us to help you through this winter.”
The council has run a scheme to sign more people up for pension credit over the past two winters.
Free warm home packs are also available to eligible homes after saving residents over £500,000 in energy bills last winter.
The pack contains draught excluders, LED light bulbs, radiator foil, and draught-excluding tape.
The eligibility to receive these packs has been increased from a £30,000 annual household income to £40,000 this year.
Also, community spaces have been set up to provide warmth, meals, and a comfortable environment.
These services are funded with the £15 million Wandsworth Cost of Living fund which is the largest in London.
To reduce the £22 billion so-called “black hole” in government finances, the winter fuel payment is now means-tested rather than universal and has dropped from 11.4 million to around 1.5 million recipients.
Age UK Wandsworth had a huge increase of people coming in for advice on how to sign up for pension credit and stay warm this winter.
A team member at Age UK Wandsworth, who wishes to remain anonymous, said that the charity has been extremely busy over the last two years because of the cost-of-living crisis and that this cut will impact the poorest pensioners.
They said: “We are cross about it both nationally and locally, we’ve kicked up a fuss about it, but it doesn’t seem to have made any difference.
“This is another kick in the teeth for pensioners who manage on small amounts of money.”
The charity offers financial advice and application help for pensioners applying for benefits.
State pensions increase yearly through the triple lock, by the highest of either inflation (CPI), average earnings increase or 2.5%.
This system was put in place by the coalition government in 2010 to ensure that the cost of living or inflation did not overtake the state pension, and Rachel Reeves has stated this will stay in place until the end of the current parliament.
The triple lock increase comes into effect in April, so will not help with the cost of bills this winter.
In April 2025 the state pension will increase in line with the average wage by 4.1%.
Featured image credit to Mark Timberlake on Unsplash
