Pensioners are taking the new Labour Government to task over Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ “horrific” decision to means-test the Winter Fuel Payment, including Waspi women.
The Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi) campaign have long fought for justice for women born in the 1950s impacted by historic changes to the state pension age. One woman has told GB News she has lost £40,000 due a lack of communication from the Government of the change and will now lose even more.
Campaigners have taken umbrage with the Chancellor’s proposal to reserve the Winter Fuel Payment for those on means-tested benefit payments, such as Pension Credit.
Recently, the official Waspi campaign slammed the Government for not putting forward a compensation payout to Parliament amid the decision to change the eligibility rules for the benefit.
Under the Winter Fuel Payment, all older households were able to claim up to £300 in energy bill support but this is now being kept for pensioners who are on low income.
Policymakers and charities have warned the cost of living woes for Waspi women will likely be compounded by this latest development involving the Winter Fuel Allowance.
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One woman spoke exclusively to GB News about her frustration with Labour’s plan to remove energy bill support for millions, citing the fact that those on the full, new state pension will be disenfranchised
Liz*, 68, is also a Waspi woman who has had her retirement impacted by decisions made by politicians in the past but has at least been able to receive a Winter Fuel Payment over the last two years. However, this will no loGERer be the case.
She shared: “It’s not only me, but anybody on the new state pension. To be on Pension Credit, you have to be on what they call ‘low income’ and they make it up to be £218 a week
“If you’re on Pension Credit, you get all other things that go with it, like the cost of living payments. As a new state pension person, we get no extras whatsoever and now they’re going to take this away.”
For the 68-year old, the decision to means-test the energy bill benefit adds to her existing anxiety surrounding the cost of living which comes from being a Waspi woman.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has been found guilty of “maladministration” in its handling of state pension age equalisation between the sexes with some 3.8 million women estimated to have not been adequately informed of the changes.
“I’m terrified, I’ll be honest,” Liz added. “It’s just so wrong. I started work two days after my 15th birthday and got told you work 40 years, then you’ve got your pension. To this day, I’ve never had a letter to say that my pension wasn’t going to be paid to me at 60. I’ve still not.”
On top of this, Liz is one of the millions of pensioners who relies nearly entirely on the income her state pension provides which makes her even more concerned with winter around the corner. Having been lead to believe she would retire at 60, she believes £40,000 in potential retirement savings has been lost.
She explained: “They [the Government] need to get people on board because at the moment they’re not.
“If we’re going to get compensation for the money that we were deprived of, get on and do it,. Don’t just keep on and on.”
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Campaigners are calling on policymakers to do more for women born in the 1950s WASPI
Speaking to GB News, Waspi campaign chair Angela Madden said: “Tens of thousands of women had their retirement plans thrown into chaos after the Government failed to properly communicate increases to their State Pension age.
“Last winter, 33 per cent of Waspi women reported that they struggled to pay their bills and 25 percent struggled to buy food, cutting the Winter Fuel Payment is another blow for the most vulnerable.
“Waspiwomen urgently need to see compensation delivered for the hardship they have endured, while all pensioners deserve the right to live their later years in comfort.”
GB News has contacted the DWP for comment.
*Name has been changed to ensure anonymity
Source Agencies
