Commenting on speculation that the winter fuel allowance could be removed for most pensioners to pay for the triple lock, Morgan Vine, Head of Policy and Influencing at Independent Age, said:
“The suggestion that Winter Fuel Allowance could be taken away from older people who are not on Pension Credit is incredibly concerning.
“How can the Government propose using this as a mechanism for identifying older people on low income when the statistics show that hundreds of thousands of eligible older people are not receiving the Pension Credit they are entitled to?
“As well as urgently raising Pension Credit uptake as close as possible to 100%, all political parties should be considering people in later life who just miss out on this income top up because they are £1 or £2 above the eligibility threshold. We hear from people in this situation every day, and they are really struggling. People have reduced meals to one a day, are showering once a week and not turning the heating on. Any reduction in income for both of these groups of people could be catastrophic.
“Politicians of all parties need to understand the realities facing older people in financial hardship. Before looking at what money can be clawed back from the pockets of older people, it’s essential the Government initiate a cross party process to establish what is an adequate level of income in later life. Until this is done, it would be dangerous to remove this payment from those who are either already living in poverty, or teetering dangerously on the edge.”