Successful claims made before December 21 will also qualify for a backdated Winter Fuel Payment of up to £300. Older people making a new claim for Pension Credit online need to be aware of several pieces of information they will need to have to hand before starting the application process. People cannot save their application and come back to it later because if no details are entered for more than 30 minutes, the application will time out and they will need to start all over again.
Guidance from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) warns that the time out is to “keep your details secure”. A new nationwide Pension Credit awareness campaign during the qualifying week of September 16-22 aims to increase take-up of the income-related benefit - a successful claim made before December 21, 2024 will also provide access to a backdated Winter Fuel Payment. Around 10 million people over State Pension age, including 850,000 in Scotland, will not be eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment this year due to the new rule change.
Only those in receipt of a means-tested benefit such as Pension Credit will qualify for the annual heating help, worth between £100 and £300. This means that it is more important than ever for pensioners - and friends and family members - to make sure they are not missing out. The DWP estimates that 880,000 pensioner households may be entitled to an average annual income boost of £3,900, but do not claim it as they wrongly believe that because they have .