Can I still claim winter fuel allowance?

Bonbongarden7
Bonbongarden7 Online Community Member Posts: 3 Listener

70 years old, worked hard to get private pensions which now take me over pension credit entitlement. I claim Attendance Allowance. Can I still claim Winter fuel allowance?

Comments

  • Jimm_Alumni
    Jimm_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 5,717 Championing

    Hi @Bonbongarden7, I saw you had posted this on your profile page so I moved it here so the community can see it more easily 😊

    There are only certain benefits that enable someone to claim Winter Fuel Payments, you have to have been born before 23 September 1958 and live in England, Wales or Northern Ireland

    • Pension Credit
    • Universal Credit
    • income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
    • income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
    • Income Support
    • Child Tax Credit
    • Working Tax Credit

    Attendance Allowance unfortunately is not among them.

    Have you calculated your entitled based on a benefits calculator can I ask? I just want to make sure that you are certain you're above the pension credit threshold. Attendance Allowance for example does not count as income for calculating Pension Credit .

  • Bonbongarden7
    Bonbongarden7 Online Community Member Posts: 3 Listener

    Thank you Jimm, I have calculated for Pension credit, but I have too high an income for it. Thanks for moving the question for me.

  • Kimi87
    Kimi87 Online Community Member Posts: 5,112 Championing

    Are you sure there is no entitlement to Pension Credit?

    Attendance Allowance means your income eligibility cut off is higher, compared to someone else not getting it.

    https://www.gov.uk/pension-credit-calculator

  • Bonbongarden7
    Bonbongarden7 Online Community Member Posts: 3 Listener

    Ok Kimmy, if that's the case I'll have another go at claiming, thanks

  • Daffodil94
    Daffodil94 Online Community Member, Scope Member Posts: 55 Empowering

    I always think it’s a good idea to claim pension credit anyway. It doesn’t take as long as some other benefit forms to complete. I’m getting attendance allowance and the single person’s pension plus a guaranteed element which takes me just over the level for pension credit. I’m 71 so born in 1953. My council helped people with one off grants last year so that might be my only hope. I pay £120 per month for electric and that’s before the heating goes on. Hope you all manage to keep warm now the weather has turned cold. I turned my blow heater on for the first time today. Electric radiators too expensive to turn on in my rented flat.