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Retired electrical design engineer Paul Taylor is not a big spender. A 74-year-old based near Sheffield, he\u2019s already been cutting down on his outgoings over the past 18 months to deal with rising prices.<\/p>\n
He describes his food bill as \u201cvery clinical\u201d and he\u2019s always searching for the best deal from his energy provider. This winter, he\u2019ll have to be even more economical with his money as he is one of the 10 million pensioners who will miss out on the fuel payment.<\/p>\n
Chancellor Rachel Reeves decided to cut the winter allowance for the majority of recipients after inheriting what she described as a \u00a322bn black hole in the public finances.<\/p>\n
Under the new plans, only pensioners on certain benefits will be able to get help with winter fuel. These benefits include universal credit, income support, child tax credit and pension credit.<\/p>\n
However, charity Age UK has identified around 2 million older people who are on low incomes or who have other vulnerabilities, like disability, but who are just above the pension credit threshold. These people will be the most affected by the cuts, they say.<\/p>\n
Mr Taylor is just above the cut-off for pension credit and, despite having mobility problems that qualify him for attendance allowance, will not be eligible for fuel payments this winter. He told The Independent: \u201cEven before all this I stopped taking holidays. I normally went abroad a couple of times a year and I have done none of that for the last 18 months. I don\u2019t anticipate that I will be able to do that any more.<\/p>\n
Paul Taylor, 74, is one of the pensioners who will lose their winter fuel payment (Paul Taylor)\u201cI\u2019m very wary of what I spend generally. My food bill I\u2019m very clinical with, no extravagant things. I tend to shop at the cheaper supermarkets.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the moment, due to my mobility problems, my sons are doing my weekly shop. I give them a list and they do my shopping and bring it to me. I haven\u2019t been out much in the past few weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Taylor, who is a widower, has arthritis and had an operation four weeks ago to remove a pin from his ankle that was causing him extreme pain. He\u2019s now got a boot on his ankle, which makes it hard to move around.<\/p>\n
Will you be impacted by the winter fuel cut? Get in touch at holly.bancroft@independent.co.uk<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m in the house basically all the time and the heating is always on now. I try and keep it about 19 degrees,\u201d he said. Mr Taylor gets a pre-2016 state pension of \u00a31,279 every four weeks, and on top of this he receives \u00a3286 from his private pension and \u00a3434 in attendance allowance each month.<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cI was previously reasonably comfortable, but now I\u2019m going to be reasonably tight with everything. I don\u2019t think [the cut] will affect me too much, but if things get any worse then it will. As a pensioner goes I think I\u2019m probably just managing with what I\u2019ve got without having to spend my savings, but it\u2019s tight. I\u2019m being careful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sarah, 79, who lives in Hackney, is also above the threshold for pension credit. But pretty much all of her money goes on rent and bills each month.<\/p>\n
She explained: \u201cMy biggest outgoing cost is rent, which is \u00a3963 a month. That\u2019s going up in November to \u00a31,020 for a one-bed flat that is very cold.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve got some secondary double glazing but it doesn\u2019t do any good. You can still see the curtains move when the wind blows.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martin Lewis issues warning to almost one million people not claiming vital paymentSarah, who didn\u2019t want to share her last name, has high blood pressure, high cholesterol and is currently suffering from a broken shoulder.<\/p>\n
\u201cI stay indoors where I can,\u201d she said. \u201cAt the moment I\u2019ve got extra costs because if I do want to go out I have to pay for a taxi. Going on the bus makes me nervous as I don\u2019t want to fall over again – that\u2019s how I broke my shoulder. I\u2019m also having food delivered, which is an extra cost.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I have ready-meals because I can\u2019t chop things as normal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Referring to the cut to winter fuel payments, she said: \u201cIt just doesn\u2019t seem like the right thing to do. I know there are many pensioners who are more well-off, but that doesn\u2019t apply to all of us who aren\u2019t on pension credit. If you\u2019ve got a lot of outgoings, everything is swallowed up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sarah gets \u00a3994 from her teachers\u2019 pension a month, and \u00a3818 from her state pension. The money from her teachers\u2019 pension all goes on her rent and her state pension pays her bills, she explained. She also gets around \u00a3100 a month from a small private pension she saved.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really need some new things in the flat, like heavy curtains, but I can\u2019t really afford any of that. I don\u2019t buy new clothes or anything like that. Even little things like hot water bottles are something I have to think about whether I can afford.<\/p>\n
\u201cI put blankets around me and have hot water bottles during the day when I\u2019m at home. Then I turn the heating on for a little while at night and I often turn it on for a bit when I have a shower in the morning.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have it on for three to four hours in the evening. Even that takes me up to \u00a388 a month at the moment, and that\u2019s going to go up with the price cap increase.\u201d<\/p>\n
A Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson said: \u201cWe are committed to supporting pensioners \u2013 with millions set to see their state pension rise by up to \u00a31,700 this parliament through our commitment to the triple lock.<\/p>\n
\u201cOver a million pensioners will still receive the winter fuel payment, and our drive to boost pension credit take-up has already seen a 152 per cent increase in claims. Many others will also benefit from the \u00a3150 warm home discount to help with energy bills over winter while our extension of the Household Support Fund will help with the cost of food, heating and bills.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the worldSign up to our free Morning Headlines email Retired electrical design engineer Paul Taylor is not a big spender. A 74-year-old based near Sheffield, he\u2019s already been cutting down on his outgoings over the past 18 months to deal with rising prices. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3693,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[173],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3692","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n