MONEY WOES
Fury at Labour plans to claw back tax from millions of pensioners entitled to Winter Fuel Payment
The government are currently thrashing out a solution
FIVE million pensioners face paying extra tax to claw back their winter fuel allowance following Labour's U-turn, it is claimed.
It comes after Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed yesterday that the benefit will be reinstated for many this winter as officials thrash out how many more elderly people will receive it.
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Treasury staff are understood to be working on an announcement which will come as early as next week's Spending Review - following last week's backtrack.
But it will come at a price - with one solution on the cards to have OAPs footing the bill.
Around half of those entitled to the allowance - with annual incomes over £37,000 - would repay the money later through higher tax bills, reports The Times.
This would include the likelihood of recouping the allowance from estates of those who died after receiving the benefit but before the tax settlement.
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There is speculation the government would have to ghoulishly chase the grieving families of those who passed in the interim.
One Labour source told the Guardian: "We should never have scrapped the winter fuel allowance in the first place, but the whole process of reinstating it has been completely chaotic.
"The optics of us demanding the money back from grieving families are dire."
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "Most people now recognise that the winter fuel cut was a massive mistake.
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"Unite has been calling on the government to scrap the cut from day one and I was pleased when the PM finally acknowledged this.
"This government needs to learn that when you are in a hole, you should stop digging. You can't leave pensioners in limbo while you work out plans for taxing the families of the deceased - just reverse it now.
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"We are the sixth richest economy in the world, and we need to stop picking the pockets of pensioners and bring in a wealth tax."
Speaking in Rochdale on Wednesday, Ms Reeves said: “We have also listened to the concerns that people had about the level of the means test. So we will be making changes to that.
"They will be in place so that pensioners will be paid for this coming winter."
However, pensioners are being warned that not everyone in the age cohort will be eligible.
The warning shot was fired after Sir Keir Starmer last week insisted that more pensioners would receive up to £300 a year.
The government brought an end to the universal winter fuel benefits last July within a month of coming into power.
But when pressed about whether the winter fuel payment would return across the board, Pensions Minister Torsten Bell said the answer was “no”.
He said: “The principle I think most people, 95% of people, agree, that it’s not a good idea that we have a system paying a few hundreds of pounds to millionaires, and so we’re not going to be continuing with that.
“But we will be looking at making more pensioners eligible.”
He added that he did’t have “lots to add” above what the Prime Minister has said in recent days.
The decision comes after Labour’s support partially collapsed in last month’s local elections - with much support heading to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.
The PM paved the way for a partial u-turn over the government’s decision to strip winter fuel payments from millions of pensioners.
The Prime Minister said “as the economy improves”, he wanted to look at widening eligibility for the payments worth up to £300.
However, officials have been unable to say how many more pensioners would be eligible.
The decision last year to axe the universal payment meant the number of pensioners receiving the payment was reduced by around 10 million, from 11.4 million to 1.5 million.
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Pension credit is the primary benefit by which pensioners can receive the winter fuel payment.
The credit tops up incomes for poorer pensioners and acts as a gateway to additional support, including the winter fuel payment.
How do I apply for pension credit?
YOU can start your application up to four months before you reach state pension age.
Applications for pension credit can be made on the government website or by ringing the pension credit claim line on 0800 99 1234.
You can get a friend or family member to ring for you, but you'll need to be with them when they do.
You'll need the following information about you and your partner if you have one:
- National Insurance number
- Information about any income, savings and investments you have
- Information about your income, savings and investments on the date you want to backdate your application to (usually three months ago or the date you reached state pension age)
You can also check your eligibility online by visiting www.gov.uk/pension-credit first.
If you claim after you reach pension age, you can backdate your claim for up to three months.
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