As recently as 4 November, the DWP was sending letters to pensioners advising them to apply for pension credit if they are eligible. Based on the most recent figures, someone applying for pension credit in early November would on average only receive their pension credit – and associated winter fuel payments – in mid-January. Payments can be backdated, but such delays would mean applicants are left without money during potentially very cold weather in December and early January, while the energy price cap went up by around 10% last month.
“It’s unfortunately no surprise that waiting times have gone up, since households will be exceptionally worried about the increased cost of heating since October and with less support available for energy bills,” said Matt Copeland, head of policy at charity National Energy Action.
“For those on prepayment meters, there is a serious risk of self-disconnection happening over the winter if they need to wait 52 working days to complete the pension credit application process. Elderly people are at far greater risk of health issues from living in a cold home – these can include respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses.
“Getting pension credit is so important for low-income and vulnerable households because it enables them to access the winter fuel payment. The government needs to sort these delays out as soon as possible to avoid further hardship for these households during the coldest time of the year.”
The waiting time figures were released in response to written parliamentary questions from Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay and Labour MP Sarah Champion.
“The increased waiting time for processing claims for pension credit is concerning,” said Champion. “It is good news that more people are submitting claims for pension credit, which has often struggled with low take-up. But it is imperative that the government acts to bring processing times down to ensure that older people most in need are able to access the support they need as soon as possible.”
“The withdrawal of winter fuel payments for some of the most vulnerable in society is unnecessary and has raised great fears among constituents,” said Ramsay. “The government claims that those claiming pension credit will be protected, but applying for this ‘gateway’ benefit has proved overly complex.
“Inevitably, we are now seeing growing delays in the time taken to handle pension credit applications. It means that despite promises from ministers that the most vulnerable will be protected, many will, in fact, go through the winter not knowing if their pension credit application is accepted or if they will get the winter fuel payment down the road.
“This is a rich country and its wealthiest citizens should have been asked in the budget to come up with a little extra in tax to ensure that pensioners receive the help they need to avoid that awful choice between heating and eating.”
The DWP also revealed that the total caseload of outstanding pension credit applications has more than doubled from 33,883 claims on 29 July – when the winter fuel payment cuts were announced – to 76,569 claims as of 28 October. These figures were disclosed in response to a parliamentary question from Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Olney.
This is not the first time waiting times have been a problem for pension credit applicants. The previous Conservative government encouraged people to apply for pension credit in 2022 as a response to the cost of living crisis, only for the DWP to be overwhelmed by the subsequent surge in demand. That led to months-long delays in applications being processed while the department rushed to draft in extra staff to get on top of the caseload.
The DWP again started increasing its staff numbers working on processing pension credit claims after the winter fuel payment cuts were announced. In her response to Olney’s written question, junior pensions minister Emma Reynolds said: “Since the announcement to means test winter fuel payments, to date we have increased the resource in pension credit claims by around 500 more staff through a combination of internal redeployments, use of external providers and external recruitment.”
The DWP had the equivalent of just over 400 full-time staff working on processing claims in August – a similar figure to October 2022. The DWP did not answer questions from Big Issueon what the “full-time equivalent” figure is now following the addition of extra staff.
A DWP spokesperson said: “We want to ensure all pensioners get the support they’re entitled to. These figures are a reflection of our successful pension credit campaign boosting applications by 152%.
“Successful claims for pension credit can be backdated by three months, so all eligible claims made by 21 December would also receive a winter fuel payment as well as arrears of pension credit.
“We continue to urge anyone who thinks they may be entitled to pension credit to check now.”
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