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'Sitting in the house with coats on' after winter fuel payment cuts

Gráinne Connolly
BBC News NI
BBC Denis is wearing glasses and a high vis jacket and looking into the camera. He's standing on a street with cars passing him on the road behind him. He's wearing a hat that says Unite the union. BBC
Denis Loughlin says many older people have to choose between heating their homes and eating

"It's 2025 and you're sitting in the house with coats on to keep warm, that's ridiculous."

That is just one of the struggles facing people like Denis Loughlin affected by cuts to winter fuel payments.

He was among protesters that gathered outside the Department for Communities (DfC) headquarters in Belfast on Thursday calling for the payments to be restored.

Last summer, the UK government said winter fuel payments would be means tested and only go to pensioners on certain benefits.

Lyons is looking into the camera. There are protesters in the background. He's wearing a navy suit with a blue shirt and a pink tie.
Gordon Lyons says the UK government "need to recognise they made a mistake and they need to reverse course"

Stormont's Communities Minister Gordon Lyons said while he did not agree with the move, Stormont would be maintaining parity with the rest of the UK.

But he said pensioners in Northern Ireland affected by the cuts would get a one-off £100 payment.

It was estimated about 249,000 pensioners in Northern Ireland were going to be affected by cuts to winter fuel payments this year.

During Thursday's demonstration, which was organised by Unite the union's retired members, campaigners handed over thousands of consultation responses demanding the payments be re-established.

They said the £100 payment per household fell "far too short" and it has yet to materialise.

"I'm one of the many thousands that gets the bare minimum because I'm £3 over the limit so I don't get pension credit, nothing. I've just my pension and that's it," Mr Loughlin said.

'It's terrible'

"It's harder now because I don't have that extra £200 or £300.

"I'm having to pay my rates, then electric and gas on top of all that."

Mr Loughlin said many older people were struggling and having to choose between heating their homes and eating.

"I know personally a friend of mine and they're exactly at that point," he said.

"They've said 'If I put the heating in, I haven't got enough money to buy food' or vice versa.

"It's ridiculous, it's terrible in this day and age."

'Look after pensioners'

Rosalind is looking into the camera. She's wearing a high viz yellow jacket ad wearing a black beanie hat that says defend the winter fuel payment.
Rosalind Morcombe said from a "pensioner's point of view, it's a lot of money" to lose

Rosalind Morcombe said people were still waiting for the one-off payment that was promised last winter.

"We had a bad, cold winter and there are a lot of people who were expecting the money and they didn't know it wasn't going to come," she said.

"It was a small amount of money, maybe from the government's point of view, but from a pensioners' point of view, it's a lot of money.

"We haven't got very high pensions here in comparison with the rest of Europe.

"The government need to look after pensioners."

'Made a mistake'

A group of protesters stand together in the street. Some of them are wearing hats that say defend the winter fuel payment and some others are wearing high-viz jackets. A few are holding signs.
Some retired members of Unite gathered outside the Department for Communities headquarters calling for the payments to be restored

The communities minister said the demonstration was a reminder of how the Labour government "disgracefully" cut the winter fuel payment from thousands across Northern Ireland.

"There are some people that are just at the borderline, that don't qualify for pension credit or other benefits," Lyons said.

He said every year the winter fuel payment "helped them to get by".

"We'll do what we can as an executive but ultimately the government need to recognise they made a mistake and they need to reverse course."

Unite has also launched a legal action through a judicial review against the winter fuel payment cut, arguing the cut is unlawful and risks increasing cold-related deaths among older people.

What is the winter fuel payment and what's changing?

  • Winter fuel payments were created in 1997 to help everyone above state pension age with their winter heating bills
  • The chancellor announced that winter 2024 would be the first time pensioners would not be eligible for the payment
  • Instead, the payments would be restricted to those on benefits and pension credit
  • Pension credit is a form of means-tested benefit, which means it's based on income and savings
  • To be eligible for pension credit you need to be above state pension age and have an income of less that £218.15 a week or less than £332.95 as a joint weekly income with your partner
  • Your savings will also be taken into account and could mean you're still ineligible even if your income is low
  • You may still be eligible despite these factors if you're disabled, care for someone or have housing costs