Are you worried about Winter Fuel Payments being cut? Take our poll and have your say

Controversial cuts to Winter Fuel Payments - a important enactment strategy for galore older residents already struggling with precocious vigor prices and a deepening outgo of surviving situation - are causing overmuch interest crossed the UK. We ask: are you worried?

As wintertime approaches, concerns are mounting crossed the UK implicit the arguable cuts to Winter Fuel Payments - a captious root of enactment for galore older residents.

With vigor prices remaining precocious and the outgo of surviving situation deepening, the imaginable of reduced fiscal assistance has near galore feeling anxious astir however they volition negociate to support lukewarm erstwhile the weather truly turns.

The Winter Fuel Payment scheme, which provides assistance to those aged 66 and over, has been a important lifeline for millions, peculiarly those connected fixed incomes. And, arsenic wintertime approaches, it's nary wonderment truthful galore are upset astir specified assistance being taken distant erstwhile it's possibly needed the most.

Only this morning, Martin Lewis accused the Labour authorities of 'taking wealth retired of the hands' of pensioners successful a furious clash connected Good Morning Britain.

The MoneySavingExpert.com laminitis grilled Cabinet curate Lisa Nandy implicit the determination to axe Winter Fuel Payments for much than 10 cardinal pensioners. The payments, which are worthy up to £300, depending connected your circumstances, utilized to beryllium disposable to anyone implicit authorities pension property - but now, you indispensable beryllium claiming definite means-tested benefits, specified arsenic Pension Credit, to proceed receiving this cash.

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Martin Lewis said: "You person to judge determination volition beryllium galore hundreds of thousands of the poorest pensioners nether £11,400 income you volition not scope this year. You are taking wealth retired of their hands." Defending the Government's decision, which it claims is needed to capable a £22billion fiscal achromatic spread near by the Tories, Ms Nandy said: "I couldn't attraction much and neither could the Chancellor and we are doing everything we tin with the Work and Pensions Secretary to woody with this tremendous achromatic spread and this appalling economical inheritance."

As temperatures drop, the urgency of this contented is lone expected to grow. And to marque matters worse, the caller Ofgem vigor terms headdress means the mean household is looking astatine an summation of astir £150 connected their bills - conscionable arsenic the chilly, rainy autumn sets in. And this won’t beryllium the past clip the UK regulator changes the maximum rates this year, with different accommodation expected successful precocious November.

This period saw the vigor terms headdress leap by £149, moving from £1,568 to £1,717 for those paying by nonstop debit. Keep successful mind, this is conscionable the cap; your existent measure volition beryllium connected however overmuch vigor you use.

This surge successful vigor prices began backmost successful 2021 during the pandemic, and past Russia's penetration of Ukraine sent costs soaring - astatine 1 point, we were looking astatine a headdress that could person reached astir £4,000 per household.

Thankfully, the authorities stepped successful with the 'Energy Price Guarantee' which helped support household costs down until summertime 2023. Still, vigor prices are unpredictable and volition apt stay hundreds of pounds higher than they were successful the past decennary for a while.

What bash YOU think? Are you disquieted astir Winter Fuel Payments being cut? Take our canvass supra and person your accidental successful the comments