The government has announced details of rolling out the winter fuel payments following a U-turn, but it has been reported that many pensioners could be left out in the cold.
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On Wednesday the government has ruled out going back to the universal winter fuel payments as the Pensions Minister Torsten Bell saying there will be no “prospect” reversing the means tested policy.
Bell told MPs at the Work and Pensions Committee, “Directly on your question of is there any prospect of a universal winter fuel payment, the answer is no, the principle I think most people, 95% of people agree, that it’s not a good idea that we have a system paying a few hundreds of pounds to millionaires, and so we’re not going to be continuing with that.”
He added that the government will look into “making pensioners eligible” for the payment.
The Chancellor has suggested on Wednesday more pensioners will get their winter fuel payment this “winter.”
Rachel Reeves said, “But we have now put our public finances on a firmer footing, the economy is in a better shape, but we have also listened to the concerns that people had about the level of the means test, and so we will be making changes to that.”
Reeves added, “People should be in no doubt that the means test will increase and more people will get winter fuel payment this winter.
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