Mapped: The parts of Wales where pensioners are most likely to lose out on Winter Fuel Payments
The areas where the highest proportion of people will lose their Winter Fuel Payments have been mapped. Across Wales, 538,397 pensioners are expected to lose their Winter Fuel Payments – a total of 86.8% of those eligible under the most recent data.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves announced the cuts among a number of “urgent decisions” she said were necessary because of the previous Tory government’s “undisclosed” overspending. It means those not on pension credit or other means-tested benefits will no longer get the annual payments, worth between £100 and £300.
In 2022-23, the latest figures available, just over 11.1 million pensioners were eligible for the winter fuel payment in England and Wales. But as of last November, only 1.2 million were eligible for pension credits, meaning about 9.9 million will miss out in England and Wales.
The cuts are more likely to affect pensioners in affluent areas, whereas in areas with higher levels of deprivation, a lower proportion will lose the payments as they are more likely to be eligible for pension credits. It is possible to map this and find out how many pensioners will likely miss out on the Winter Fuel Payment and which areas will see the most people drop below the threshold.
In Wales, the area that will see the highest proportion of pensioners lose their Winter Fuel Payments is Monmouthshire (91.9%), while in Blaenau Gwent the lowest proportion (82.2%) will lose their payments.
The top five parts of Wales for the percentage estimated to lose their eligibility for Winter Fuel Payments are:
– Monmouthshire (91.9%)
– Powys (90.3%)
– Vale of Glamorgan (90.0%)
– Ceredigion (89.4%)
– Flintshire (89.0%)
Meanwhile, the five areas where the lowest proportion will lose eligibility are:
– Blaenau Gwent (82.2%)
– Merthyr Tydfil (82.9%)
– Caerphilly (84.5%)
– Neath Port Talbot (84.7%)
– Rhondda Cynon Taf (84.8%)
Across the UK, the areas where the most pensioners are likely to lose out include Hart in Hampshire (95.2%), Wokingham in Berkshire (95.0%), and Rutland in the East Midlands (94.6%). Monmouthshire does not make the UK-wide top 10.
Meanwhile, the areas where pensioners are least likely to lose out – suggesting a higher proportion of pensioners with limited financial means – are Tower Hamlets (54.9%), Hackney (61.8%), and Newham (64.4%). This top 10 is comprised almost solely of London boroughs except for Manchester, which is seventh (71.2%).