Struggling pensioners face a maze of red tape to qualify for Pension Credit and keep their Winter Fuel Payment, it has emerged.
The problem has emerged following the decision by Chancellor Rachel Reeves to axe the winter fuel payment, worth up to £300.
From this year, the payment will only be available to the lowest income pensioners who qualify for Pension Credit.
However, in order to qualify for Pension Credit, seniors first have to fill out a 22-page form and answer some 243 questions.
As many as 880,000 older people who are eligible for Pension Credit are not receiving it, and campaigners say the red tape is making it difficult for them to make a claim.
The situation is so bad that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has been accused of deliberately making pension credit “inaccessible” to retirees.
Joanna Elson CBE, chief executive at Independent Age, said: “From our helpline, we already know that some older people are put off claiming due to the inaccessibility and length of the form. Pension credit is a lifeline to many of the older people who receive it.”
Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK added: “The pension credit form has 243 boxes to navigate. It is not particularly long or complex as claim forms go, but completing it would still pose a challenge for many of us, including many older people with no one to help them.”
The government has launched a publicity campaign urging people to claim Pension Credit. However, Ms Abrahams said expecting a large number to sign up in the next few weeks would “be very much a triumph of hope over experience”.
She said the Age UK helpline had been inundated with calls about the change, adding: “However tough the economic choices the Government faces may be, there has to be a better way than adopting a means-testing policy that will further impoverish pensioners on low and modest incomes this winter, potentially putting their health as well as their financial wellbeing at risk.”
The government’s decision to axe the Winter Fuel Payment will theoretically help make savings of some £1.4 billion.
However, this figure would be more than wiped out if all 880,000 people eligible for Pension Credit finally get the benefit they are entitled to. The total bill to the government would be £3.8 billion – so dwarfing the figure saved by cutting winter fuel payments.
Historically, take-up of pension credit has been low, with only 63pc of those eligible claiming the credit. Single pensioners are eligible to receive pension credit if they have a weekly income of up to £218, while those in a couple must have an income of less than £332 per week.
Those with a disability or a carer may be able to claim more, but the average pensioner receives £3,800 in support.
The benefit also opens up access to additional financial support, including council tax reductions and support with healthcare costs, which can be worth up to £8,000. The form can be completed online, over the phone or by post.
Pension expert Sir Steve Webb, of consultancy LCP, urged pensioners to apply via the DWP’s helpline.
He told the Telegraph: “I would always encourage people to phone up rather than fill in a long and complex form.”
However, pensioners have also been warned of helpline delays in the rush to claim the benefit before the temperature drops.
Sir Steve said the Government should consider streamlining the process to simplify applications.
He added: “I would favour doing anything to streamline the process – most importantly, where people have already given all this information to the council to claim help with rent or council tax, they shouldn’t have to give it all again to DWP to be assessed for pension credit.”
Simon Francis, of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, said: “It’s clear ministers have not thought this through. When the Chancellor cruelly snatched away the winter fuel payment from millions of pensioners, she promised to help households who are eligible to claim the benefit.
The Government is allowing pensioners to backdate benefits claims until December, but campaigners fear that money might not reach pensioners until after the first cold spell of winter has hit.
A DWP spokesman said: “We have surged additional staff to cover increasing Pension Credit calls and urge anyone who thinks they may be entitled to Pension Credit to check now.”
