In the six months since Labour restricted the Winter Fuel Payment for pension-age Brits to just those claiming Pension Credit, more than 150,000 people signed up to the income-boosting benefit. The government has been urging pensioners on low incomes to take up the benefit through various campaigns, but over half a million are still missing out.
A Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) minister has admitted that only a fraction of claims were processed by the application deadline, with around 60 per cent of all claims made in the latter half of the year yet to be reviewed. The deadline to make a backdated Pension Credit claim and receive the £200 to £300 Winter Fuel Payment was December 21.
With older Brits under more pressure to claim the benefit, applications boomed by 145 per cent over this period, with officials managing to process around 9000 per week. However, by December 23, DWP minister Baroness Sherlock admitted in response to a written question that there were still 92,400 claims outstanding.
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Regardless of whether the claim was processed or not, so long as it was submitted before December 21 last year and approved, any eligible Brits should receive their backdated Winter Fuel Payment on January 29.
Responding to further questions, Baroness Sherlock said: "Our campaign has seen DWP receive around 150,000 Pension Credit applications in the 16 weeks since the Winter Fuel Payment announcement. This is compared to around 61,300 Pension Credit applications in the 16 weeks preceding the announcement."
In the month leading up to this cutoff for help with heating costs, DWP officials sent letters to 120,000 Brits
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