Pensioners: Cost of Living

(asked on 13th December 2022) - View Source

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to help pensioners with the rising cost of living.


Answered by
Laura Trott Portrait
Laura Trott
Chief Secretary to the Treasury
This question was answered on 19th December 2022

The Government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living and that pensioners are more likely to suffer disproportionately from adverse health effects from living in a cold home and many low-income pensioner households do not claim the means tested benefits they are entitled to. That is why, in addition to the £37 billion of support we have provided for cost of living pressures in 2022/23, we are acting now to ensure support continues throughout 2023/24.

There are currently around 1.4 million pensioners claiming Pension Credit, through which they will be entitled to receive up to £650 in Cost of Living Payments in 2022/23. These payments are targeted at low income households in receipt of an eligible means-tested benefit.

Eight million pensioner households are receiving a £300 Pensioner Cost of Living Payment as a top-up to their Winter Fuel Payment, and pensioners in receipt of an eligible disability benefit should have received the £150 Disability Cost of Living Payment

All pensioners in England who pay Council Tax in bands A to D should have received a £150 rebate.

The Secretary of State announced on 17 November that State pensions and benefits will be up-rated from April 2023 by 10.1%, in line with the increase in the Consumer Prices Index in the year to September 2022.

To ensure stability and certainty for households, in the Autumn Statement the Government announced £26 billion in cost of living support for 2023/24. This includes Cost of Living Payments for the most vulnerable households, an additional £1 billion to help with the cost of household essentials next year and the amended Energy Price Guarantee, which will save the average UK household £500 in 2023-24.

For those who require extra support, the Government is providing an additional £1 billion of funding, including Barnett impact, to enable the extension of the Household Support Fund in England in the next financial year. This is on top of what we have already provided since October 2021, bringing total funding to £2.5 billion. In England this will be delivered through an extension to the Household Support Fund backed by £842 million, running from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024, which local authorities use to help households with the cost of essentials. It will be for the devolved administrations to decide how to allocate their additional Barnett funding.

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