Colletta Smith and Abi Smitton
Cost of Living Correspondent & Producer
BBC
Sandra, from County Durham, said she was afraid of going into debt after losing her winter fuel payment.
Sandra said she previously relied on her winter fuel payment, but when this became means-tested her pension took her over the £20-a-week threshold and therefore lost her.
“I had to take out a credit card, an overdraft and a credit account to be able to pay this winter,” she told the BBC.
Sandra is one of 11 million pensioners who lost their payments, worth up to £300, just as temperatures dropped.
The government has said it is committed to supporting pensioners, but charity Age UK said it saw a 60% increase in calls to its helpline at the height of the cold snap.
“I currently have £4 in my (bank) account,” said Sandra, 66, who lives alone in County Durham. “I am paying off my credit (card) account month after month, which is a direct result of losing the winter fuel allowance.
“Psychologically, we feel a bit like a failure.
“We’re still in the middle of winter, so I’m hoping and praying that we don’t have another cold snap because I have nowhere to go if I can’t pay my bills.”
The winter fuel payment is a lump sum of £200 per year for pensioners under 80, increasing to £300 for those over 80. It is paid in November or December and is intended for all retirees, regardless of their income.
Last year the government announced that the measure would be limited to those entitled to pension credit and other means-tested benefits.
Age UK said the number of calls to its advice line increased by 50% in the first full week of January, rising to 60% the following week.
A spokesperson said: “Cold weather is one of the biggest concerns for callers at the moment.
“Even though the deadline to apply for pension credit and receive this year’s winter fuel payment has now passed, we are still receiving requests for benefit checks due to growing concern about meeting the cost of living .”
“A lot of money to lose”
Marjorie and Rosemary, lifelong friends, both in their nineties, found this winter difficult
Earlier this month, temperatures fell so low in the small village of Sedbergh in Cumbria that cold weather payments were triggered.
The one-off payment of £25 is paid to benefit recipients in the event of prolonged cold weather.
Next-door neighbors Rosemary, 93, and Marjorie, 92, have known each other since primary school. None of them were eligible for winter fuel allowance or cold weather benefits this year.
“That’s a lot of money to lose,” Rosemary said. “It makes a big difference. You shouldn’t rely on it, but you relied on it, I thought ‘well, I can get a little extra food, I can put in another bag of coal’.”
Marjorie’s house is old and poorly insulated. “I struggle to heat my house because I have all the exterior walls and they are stone,” she said.
Data from the Department for Leveling Up shows the area north of Sedberg is the worst in England for energy efficient homes.
17.7% of homes in and around Penrith have the lowest EPC ratings – F or G.
“They don’t turn on the heating”
Rachel Denby provides energy advice to Blackpool residents
At the Grange Community Center in Blackpool, Rachel Denby advises retirees on how to make their homes more energy efficient and reduce their bills.
“A senior can pay all the bills, stay on top of their payments, and not have any debt, so from the outside it doesn’t seem like a problem, but in reality they’re not eating or turning the tables. “The heating is on,” she told the BBC.
The government has said it does not want to see anyone suffer this winter and has pledged to support pensioners, with millions expected to see their state pension increase in April.
