DWP will give away £200 free to anyone born before this date | Personal Finance | Finance

As cold weather approaches, hundreds of thousands of pensioners can expect a £200 payment from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) as part of the Winter Fuel Payment Scheme.

This year only the poorest pensioners will receive money.

Previously, everyone over 65 received a lump sum payment, but the new Labor government changed the criteria.

The government argues that many wealthier pensioners do not need the payment and that help should be targeted to those who need it most.

People born before 22 September 1958 who also receive benefits such as Pension Credit, Universal Credit or Income Support will be eligible to receive this money. Those over 80 could receive up to £300.

The winter fuel charge is designed to help struggling pensioners pay their energy bills during the cold winter months when they need to use their heating more often.

Payment is usually made automatically to those who qualify and are due to arrive between mid-November and Christmas.

However, the government’s decision to cut payments this year has drawn criticism from some charities, BirminghamLive reports.

While the richest pensioners will no longer receive the payments, campaigners say many who are not particularly wealthy but no longer fall within that threshold will lose out.

Age UK has launched a petition against the government’s changes.

The petition said: “The Government has announced that winter fuel payments will be means-tested in England and Wales.

“About two million pensioners who desperately need money to stay warm this winter will not receive it. Sign our petition to save winter fuel payments for the poorest pensioners.”

Conservatives continue to protest against the decision to limit the winter fuel allowance to all but the poorest pensioners.

Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride said a petition calling on the Government to think again had received “more than a quarter of a million signatures”, adding that “many” pensioners would have a “really, really tough time”.

Ms Reeves made the cuts as part of a series of measures aimed at plugging a £22 billion shortfall in the public finances.

Shadow Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is challenging a report on the so-called black hole due to be published alongside the Budget.