State pensioners who've received the Winter Fuel Payment say it doesn't cover energy bills. One pensioner has hit out after making the grade and qualifying for the Winter Fuel Allowance, which is worth £300 or £200 from the Department for Work and Pensions ( DWP ). Yvonne Bailey, 79, told the I paper she relies on the state pension but has nothing left after paying her bills and doing the food shop.
She said: “When I heard they were cutting the winter fuel payment, I felt physically sick. I’m lucky that I get this but £200 won’t even touch the sides now bills are so high.” Ms Bailey said: “My income is made up of the state pension and pension credit so I get around £300 a week and in this day and age, that’s just not enough.
Thankfully, my rent and council tax are covered but I have seen my energy bills rise to around £50 a week. READ MORE UK faces 7cm snow on Saturday and Sunday with six counties in England pummelled “I don’t know how because I hardly have the heating on. I normally put it on in the morning for about an hour, so the bathroom is warm when I shower and then maybe for an hour in the afternoon, but I never set it higher than 15°C, so it literally just takes the chill off.
“I’m doing all that I can – I switch my appliances off when I’m not using them and I wrap up in the house to avoid putting the heating on, but I shouldn’t have to live like this.” She explained how little luxuries - like trips to the cinema or coffee with frien.