Call for extension to winter fuel payment deadline

Following its announcement, the government launched a campaign encouraging those eligible to claim pension credit, with around 150,000 new applications between 29 July and 17 November.

But this represents a small fraction of the 880,000 pensioners estimated to be eligible who had not put in a claim.

Age UK says it has been inundated with requests for help to apply for the benefit.

The charity’s director Caroline Abrahams told the BBC: “For some older people, they still haven’t heard about pension credit or the form is too overwhelming.

“There is help available but of course the system is overwhelmed at the moment.”

Analysis by BBC Verify suggests tens of thousands of pensioners are unlikely to receive their Winter Fuel Payment before the end of the year because of the backlog in unprocessed claims.

The DWP says it has deployed 500 additional staff to speed up processing.

A government spokesperson said: “Over one million pensioners will still receive the winter fuel payment, and our drive to boost pension credit take-up has seen applications more than double with over 40,000 more pensioners now receiving it, as well as the winter fuel payment.

“We continue to urge anyone who thinks they may be entitled to pension credit to check now, as all eligible claims can be backdated, and anyone who makes a successful claim before December 21 will receive their payment.”