Thousands of pensioners face 10-week delays on winter fuel payments

Surge in pension credit applications triggers benefit log jam

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Thousands of pensioners will receive winter fuel payments late after a surge in applications triggered a benefit log jam.
More than 74,400 elderly people face 10-week delays on claims after Labour’s decision to scrap universal winter fuel payments in July triggered a surge in pension credit applications.
In September, most claimants were waiting 26 working days to hear from the Government.
However, by October 21, this had risen to 52 working days, higher than the target of 50 days, pensions minister Emma Reynolds revealed in response to a question from an MP on Wednesday.
Under winter fuel reforms set to save the Treasury £1.4bn, only those in receipt of eligible benefits, including pension credit, will still qualify for support this winter.
Ms Reynolds was unable to provide data on whether it was faster to apply online or by telephone. 
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has diverted 500 staff to help deal with increased demand, including from external companies and recruitment.
It said claimants who applied before December 21 would receive a backdated winter fuel payment.
Steve Webb, partner at pension consultants LCP said: “The surge in applications for pension credit means that the average wait to find out if you will get anything has already doubled.
“This clearly shows that the Government has not put enough extra staff in place to cope with the higher volume of claims. 
“Given that pension credit is designed to help people living below the poverty line, it is totally unacceptable that people are having to wait an average of 10 weeks (or 50 working days) before they get a penny.”
A campaign targeting the more than 800,000 pensioners estimated to be eligible for pension credit but not claiming it was launched in September by the DWP.
More than 74,000 applications were made in the two months following Labour’s decision to scrap the winter fuel allowance, an increase of 152pc.
It comes after charity Independent Age said that calls to its helplines had increased by 300pc as pensioners struggled to find out if they qualified for the winter fuel allowance.
Fran McSweeney, at Independent Age, said: “Many of the older people calling us have never sought our support before, but they are frightened about the upcoming winter and are unsure if they are eligible for pension credit.”
She said: “We have heard harrowing accounts of people in later life planning to only live in one room, cut back on their food shopping and visit public places to stay warm. This is extremely worrying, as living like this can be detrimental to your physical and mental health.”
Charities warned in August that pensioners were struggling to answer the complicated 243-question form to apply for pension credit, leading to the Government promising to revise the application.
A spokesman for the DWP said: “We want to ensure all pensioners get the support they’re entitled to. These figures are a reflection of our successful pension credit campaign boosting applications by 152pc and we are deploying more than 500 extra staff to process the expected increase in claims.
The spokesman added: “Successful claims for pension credit can be backdated by three months, so all eligible claims made by December 21 would also receive a winter fuel payment as well as arrears of pension credit. We continue to urge anyone who thinks they may be entitled to pension credit to check now.”
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