Call to donate Winter Fuel Payments to Surviving Winter campaign
20,000 vulnerable people benefited from Winter Fuel Payment donations last year.
Well-off pensioners are once again being urged to donate their Winter Fuel Payments to help others, with the relaunch of the Surviving Winter campaign for 2013.
This is the third year for the campaign, orchestrated by UK Community Foundations, which aims to convince older people that are financially comfortable to donate their Winter Fuel Payments to the less fortunate.
It says that £1.2 million was raised last year, which in turn through individual grants helped 20,000 people in debt to their energy provider, provided support for local organisations that help elderly and vulnerable people and provided funding for food banks.
The Winter Fuel Payment is worth between £100 and £300 and is available to anyone born before 5th January 1952, irrespective of their financial position. The payments are made automatically between November and December.
If you would like to donate, you can do so on the UK Community Foundations website.
Figures released today show Winter Fuel Payments to people in Europe have almost doubled in the past year, following a European Courts of Justice ruling increasing the number of people entitled to the money.
What do you think? Will you be donating your Winter Fuel Payment this year? Should the payments be means tested? Let us know your thoughts in the Comment box below.
Compare energy tariffs in your area with lovemoney.com
More on gas and electricity:
Co-operative Energy cuts winter energy price rise by 2%
Ten ways to save on energy
How to switch energy supplier
How to beat the winter energy price rises
Where to get help with paying your energy bills
Ways to pay for energy efficiency improvements
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Comments
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Yippee we’ve also got our Christmas bonuses as well!! Still a hell of a long way to go though to get back my NI contributions that the barstewards stole. As I said in an earlier comment, take everything you can if you’ve paid for it because the state will take everything it can from you regardless of which political party is in power.
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Both my wife and I have received our winter fuel allowances and will make sure we use it prudently. Cheers George and Dave!
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There are far more pensioners in fuel poverty than well off ones who don't need the winter fuel allowance. Here is true stupidity. The Government decide how much I need to live on and they give me Pension Credit. However this then takes my total income over the tax threshold so they employ HMRC inspectors to take about £200 back off me again. Then they give me a winter fuel allowance - in theory at least. The mechanism for sending out winter fuel allowances is so inefficient they have to send it out in batches according to the first two characters of your NI numbers. Mine starts YP so I haven't got mine yet. My friend whose NI number starts with a C has had hers for two weeks. They also send out a completely unnecessary letter to tell you that you are going to receive it. We know that thanks. If they feel they HAVE to send out the letter, do it in October ahead of the actual payment so that when November and the cold arrives they can send out the allowance in ONE hit. It goes straight in the bank so where is the problem? I'm sitting here in a cold house because I have to eke out what I have to spend on heating and it doesn't run to all day. There are TWO Gov Departments who deal with Winter Fuel Allowance. The Pension Service do it for those receiving State Pension but there are other disabled and chronically sick people who can apply and receive it. More inefficiency. They can't even tell me exactly when I will get my allowance paid despite hanging on the phone for ages. Excuse me Mr Prime Minister, I have my extra jumper on, and bedsocks and an extra blanket at night and I'm still cold and broke. Sort out the WFA payments now! How dare that lizard Luniversal call me feckless. I opted in and relied on the state to give me my second pension and my total income is not enough to house, heat and feed me mainly because the Gov have let the energy companies feed off the blood of the nation. Save your weasel words for EDF, Npower, E.on, British Gas and the rest of the vampires.
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02 December 2013