The state pension could be means-tested in the near future if the Government continues with its plans to means-test Winter Fuel Payments, campaigners have warned.
Earlier this year, Chancellor Rachel Reeves unveiled Labour’s intention to link eligibility for the up to £300 in energy bill support with means-tested support from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), such as Pension Credit.
Going forward, older households will need to prove that they are on low income to access any of the Winter Fuel Allowance.
Leading charities are sounding the alarm that the Government will not stop there when it comes to slashing support for pensioners.
This weekend, Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall revealed plans to bring down Britain’s skyrocketing welfare bill.
Speaking to The Express, Dennis Reed, the director of pensioner charity Silver Voices outlined what is potentially at stake for the country’s elderly population.
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Campaigners are warning the state pension could be “means-tested” following the Chancellor’s Winter Fuel Payment cut
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He explained: “If the universal Winter Fuel Payment goes the same way as the free TV licence, the next in line will be free prescriptions in England and the free bus pass.
“Then means-testing the state pension, or levying national insurance on our private pensions, will also be on the cards.
“It is hypocritical for the Chancellor to suggest that she was forced to decide this policy by the financial situation and that she was reluctant to do it.
“Her job is all about political priorities and she chose to spend far more on meeting the demands of the public sector unions.”
According to Reed, Reeves did not do enough to tackle the private and financial sectors in her Budget which has left the most vulnerable at risk.
“She also chose not to take on the powerful banks, energy firms and internet giants making obscene profits,” he added.
“We think this attack on pensioners was a symbolic sop to those think tanks and special advisers who regard all older people as fair game for cuts.”
Unlike Pension Credit, and now the Winter Fuel Payment, the state pension is not means-tested and is available once older Britons reach the retirement age.
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Entitlement to means-tested benefit payments, including Universal Credit, are based on someone’s income and savings.
As it stands, Britons need 35 years of National Insurance contributions under their belt to claim the full new state pension.
During the General Election this year, Labour pledged to keep the triple lock on state pensions which determines the annual payment rate hike.
Through the triple lock, pension payments are raised by either inflation, average earnings or 2.5 per cent; whichever is highest.