Thousands of residents in the European Union (EU) could be eligible to claim Winter Fuel Payments this year despite the benefit being recently axed for millions by Labour.
Millions of pounds has been paid to pensioners living outside the UK, according to new figures released by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
Last year, 34,307 of allowance payments were delivered to residents living in EU counties, such as Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia.
The up to £300 in energy bill support was paid 25 times in the latter country with majority of payments going towards those living in the Republic of Ireland, which has 26,226 claimants.
These figures were confirmed as part of a Government response to a written parliamentary question from Sir John Hayes MP.
The Conservative MP for South Holland & the Deepings asked: “How many people eligible for Winter Fuel Payments live overseas, broken down by country.”
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Pensioners are preparing to lose energy bill support GETTY Emma Reynolds, the DWP’s Parliamentary Under-Secretary, responded with a table of claimants in her reply, The Express reports.
Based on her response, recipients could also be EU nationals who have previously worked in Britain years past.
In July, the Chancellor confirmed the Winter Fuel Payment would be means-tested going forward with pensioners now needing claim benefits such as Pension Credit to be eligible.
According to the Under-Secretary’s reply, payments are set to be available to eligible individuals based in the EU after Reeves’s announcement.
Reynolds shared: “For winter 2024/25, to be paid Winter Fuel Payments abroad, customers must be in scope of the Withdrawal Agreement and equivalent agreements with the EEA-European Free Trade Association (EFTA) states and Switzerland, and the 2019 Convention with Ireland.
Some 10 million pensioners are estimated to be at risk of losing their allowance with the payment being means-tested.
The move has received backlash from poverty campaigners, charities and MPs with the Chancellor facing calls to reverse her decision ahead of October 30’s Budget.
Recently, Reeves has claimed that “tough decisions” will need to be made to plug the supposed £22billion “black hole” in the public finances.
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Reeves is under fire for means-testing the allowance
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Simon Jordan, the coordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, said: “Until the Government fully implements its plans to improve insulation and ventilation of buildings as well as stabilise energy costs, vulnerable households will continue to need financial support.
“That’s why the WinterFuelPayments were so important, the money provided help for older households to stay warm each winter.
“Sadly, now more older people are expected to live in cold damp homes this winter and this puts them at greater risk of ill health, meaning the costs to the NHS will soar.”
A Government spokesperson previously told GB News: “This Government is committed to pensioners: protecting the triple lock, keeping energy bills low through our Warm Homes Plan, and cutting NHS waiting lists – bringing real stability to people’s lives.
“We said we would be honest with the public and, given the dire state of the public finances we have inherited, this Government must take difficult decisions to fix the foundations of the economy.”