A huge surge in claims means tens of thousands of pensioners are unlikely to receive their winter fuel payments before the end of this year. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is dealing with a mounting backlog of new claims for pension credit – where the government tops up a pensioner’s income.
By mid November this backlog had reached 90,000 unprocessed claims with about 9,000 being processed each week, according to latest official figures. Not all applications are successful in being approved for pension credit – only around 45% of applications processed since July have been approved.
Analysis by BBC Verify suggests there’s been a surge in claims for pension credit since Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced on July 29 that winter fuel payments for this year would be mostly limited to people on pension credit. The Department for Work and Pensions has deployed 500 extra staff to help process applications. MPs are today (December 18), launching an inquiry into how changes to the winter fuel payment affect pensioner poverty.
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Before the chancellor’s announcement in late July, the average number of weekly applications for pension credit was 3,800 but since August, it’s been averaging around 9,400. That follows government and charity campaigns encouraging people to claim.”
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The DWP has released figures revealing there were around 150,000 new applications for pension credit in the UK between July 29 and November 17. Pensions Minister Emma Reynolds told Parliament on December 4 that the total number of unprocessed pension credit applications in the end of week beginning November 18 was 91,075.
BBC Verify reported that Simon Livingston from Brighton applied for pension credit for his mother in March and was still waiting for a decision. Jackie Newberry in Hook in Hampshire applied for pension credit for her 95-year-old mother Ena in February and was told she would get a decision by mid-March – after chasing several times she was finally told her claim had been approved in early December.
DWP data reveals that the average processing time for a pension credit application was 65 working days, or 13 weeks, up from 9 weeks at the end of July. That would mean eligible people who submitted an application in November or December would be unlikely to get their £200 to £300 winter fuel payment – and backdated pension credit payment – until February or March 2025.
A government spokesperson told the BBC: “Over a million pensioners will still receive the Winter Fuel Payment, and our drive to boost Pension Credit take up has seen applications more than double with over 40,000 more pensioners now receiving it, as well as the Winter Fuel Payment.”
“We have deployed additional staff to support processing applications, seeing a 51% increase in the number of cleared claims since the Chancellor’s announcement.”
BBC Verify asked the DWP for the most up-to-date figures for the size of the backlog and the average processing time and were pointed to the published figures from the middle of November.
The government has set December 21 as the deadline by which eligible people can apply for pension credit in time to receive the 2024-25 winter fuel payment.
After means-testing for winter fuel payments was announced in July, the government estimated the take-up rate would be equivalent to an additional 100,000 people.
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