Moneysaving expert Martin Lewis has revealed how pensioners could secure themselves a handout worth £11,300 with just one simple step.
With many elderly Britons worried about how they will make ends meet this winter, just one phone call could make a huge difference to their budgets.
Amid the controversy surrounding Labour’s plan to make winter fuel payments means-tested, many pensioners are facing a cold season and costly energy bills which may necessitate choosing between heating and eating.
The £300 cost of living payment is also no longer available, meaning some could find themselves £600 worth off by Christmas.
So Martin Lewis is urging all pensioners to check whether they are eligible for pension credit, something he often reminds his fans is under-claimed.
Martin Lewis is urging all pensioners to check whether they are eligible for pension credit, something he often reminds his fans is under-claimed
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is under fire for his plans to scrap the automatic winter fuel payment and means-test it instead
According to his website, close to one million households who are eligible for the additional payment don’t currently receive it.
Single pensioners who have a weekly income of under £218 or couples with a weekly income of under £332 are generally eligible, although some who receive over those thresholds may also be able to claim.
The maximum payout – for someone who has no state pension – is £218 a week, or £11,300 a year.
But as it is only available to the lowest-income pensioners, some may still struggle after winter fuel payments are expected to be cut off.
Anyone wondering if they are eligible can contact the Pension Credit helpline or go online to see the full criteria.
And if a household is able to claim pension credits, they can also access a free TV licence, a reduction on council tax worth up to £1,000 a year and a warm home discount – equivalent to £150 off energy bills.
Martin Lewis said: ‘If you’re a single pensioner and you have total weekly income under £218 a week, you will likely get it, if it’s under £235 a week you will maybe get it but it’s still worth checking.
‘If you’re a couple – both of you are state pensioners living together – then my rule is you should check if it’s under £350 total weekly income.
‘Under £333 you’re likely to get it, under £350 there’s a chance.’
Many elderly Britons are worried about how they will make ends meet this winter
Pension credits are available to those on low incomes and have a maximum value of £11,300 per year
In a key Commons vote on Tuesday, the Government will seek approval for plans to stop the payments to about ten million pensioners.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has justified the cut as necessary to combat a £22 billion blackhole Labour says was left by the previous Tory Government.
But the move has angered many Labour MPs amid warnings that cutting the payments, which are worth up to £300, could lead to ‘excess deaths’ this winter.
Rebel Labour MPs claimed last night that as many as 30 of them would defy the Government by refusing to vote for the measure.
However, most are likely to do that by abstaining after seven Labour colleagues had the Whip suspended in July after openly voting against the Government to scrap the two-child benefit cap.
Under the new proposals, pensioners living on just above £13,000 a year will lose the winter fuel help.
The Government has already launched a campaign to get up to 880,000 people who miss out on pension credit to apply for the benefit, which also entitles them to keep winter fuel payments.
With its huge Commons majority, Labour is assured of winning the key vote this week.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said he is not ‘remotely happy’ about having to vote to ‘take money away’ from pensioners by cutting the winter fuel allowance, but argued it is essential to balance public finances.
He told Sky News: ‘I think it is a tough choice, and we’ve had plenty of political criticism for it, I think, which demonstrates the political pain of it.
‘I’m not remotely happy about it, and I’m not remotely happy about having to say to some of my constituents, I’m sorry that I’m going into work this week to v
