Martin Lewis has issued a stark warning to state pensioners about upcoming changes to pension payments and Winter Fuel Payments.
On X, he highlighted that, despite the state pension being set to rise by up to £460 a year from April 2025, this increase will come too late to help pensioners this winter in the wake of the energy bill benefit being means-tested.
The Money Saving Expert founder expressed particular concern for the poorest pensioners, warning that up to 800,000 individuals who receive less than the full state pension may miss out on crucial support.
As well as this, he cautioned that these vulnerable individuals “are very hard to reach and will be under huge financial pressure”.
Next year, the state pension will rise by four per cent thanks to the “triple lock’ guarantee but Lewis emphasised that this increase won’t benefit pensioners during the current winter.
“The rise starts next April. This winter most pensioners are facing (looking at energy bills alone) a typical £500 higher cost compared to last,” he shared on ITV Good Morning Britain.
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The Money Saving Expert has hit back
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He further clarified that the full state pension increase applies only to those receiving the maximum amount.
The television presenter added: “Only one in four pensioners get the ‘new’ state pension… the ‘old’ state pension also has the triple lock but as it is on a lower base won’t rise as much.”
Furthermore, Martin Lewis expressed deep concern over the £300 Winter Fuel Payment cut for pensioners.
He warned that many will be £500 worse off this winter due to the loss of both the Winter Fuel Payment despite energy bills being £100 cheaper than last year.
“These are the people I’m most worried about, some of whom may end up choosing between heating and eating,” Lewis stated.
He criticised the Government’s approach, saying, “Means testing itself is too narrow, effectively saying if you earn less than £11,400 you’ll get the £300 payment.”
Lewis highlighted that the poorest pensioners, who the Government believes should receive support, may still miss out due to difficulties in the system.
He stressed the urgency of addressing this issue to prevent vulnerable elderly individuals from facing severe financial hardship.
Furthermore, the pension expert also issued a crucial warning to people born before 1979 regarding their state pension.
He urges these individuals to check if they can boost their pension by buying back missing National Insurance years before the April 2025 deadline.
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Pensioners are preparing to lose energy bill support GETTY “If you have gaps between 2006 and 2018, you need to think about this this year because you can only do it until next April,” Lewis advised.
According to the savings expert, for every £800 spent on buying a missing year, one could potentially add £6,100 per year to their pension pot.
However, Lewis cautioned that this strategy might not be beneficial for everyone.
“If you’re under 45 this probably isn’t worth doing, unless you’ve got very cheap partial years,” he said.
Source Agencies
