Winter Fuel Allowance Cuts to Hit 82 Percent of Pensioners Below or Just Above Poverty Line: Analysis

Four in every five pensioners living below or just below the poverty line will lose their winter fuel allowance as a result of the government’s decision to cut the benefit, new figures suggest. Analysis by the charity Age UK found the figures “deeply worrying,” warning of a potential disaster for many pensioners this winter. Age UK reported that 82 percent or 2.5 million pensioners will miss out on the winter fuel allowance, including those over the age of 80, disabled and those living alone. From this year, older people in England and Wales who are not in receipt of pension credit or certain other means-tested benefits, will no longer receive winter fuel payments....