State pensioners who lose Winter Fuel Payment to get up to £200 for energy bills

Octopus Energy is paying up to £200 to pensioners hit by Winter Fuel Payment cuts and says it is also training staff to help people apply for Pension Credit

State pensioners on low incomes who don't qualify for Winter Fuel Payment are to receive up to £200 towards their gas and electricity bills. Octopus Energy has confirmed it is offering a cash lifeline to help people with energy costs over the autumn and winter months.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has restricted the Winter Fuel Payment to those on Pension Credit or some other means-tested benefits. This will reduce the number of older people receiving the allowance from 10.8 million last winter to 1.5 million this year.

Around 1.4 million people currently claim Pension Credit, which is worth an average of £3,900 per year. However, it's believed 880,000 are eligible for the benefit but not claiming it, while another 130,000 don't qualify but are only £500 above the qualifying income threshold.

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Campaigns are underway to encourage more people to put in a claim for Pension Credit, which has led to a huge increase in applications. Government figures show there have been around 74,400 claims made in the eight weeks since Rachel Reeves announced means-testing, a 152 per cent increase compared with the eight weeks before that.

Octopus Energy says it is training staff to help customers claim the top-up benefit and is also handing out support to pensioners who are not eligible for Pension Credit. The company is extending its £30m Octo Assist fund so that lower-income pension households who don't receive Pension Credit can get financial assistance.

Thousands of discretionary credits of £50, £100 and £200 will be available to those who apply, it said, along with free benefit and Pension Credit checks. Octopus says its Octo Assist fund has already helped over 80,000 customers during the energy crisis by offering payment breaks, standing charge holidays and support with clearing energy bill debt.

Greg Jackson, Founder of Octopus Energy Group, said: "At times like this, we can’t expect the government to do everything - companies need to work hard on affordability too. That's why we've expanded our Octo Assist fund to introduce extra support for the pensioners who need it most. There's a lot of government and other support for pensioners but many don’t realise it - government data shows one in three pensioners eligible for Pension Credits are not claiming, so we're training our team to help with this too."

Octopus Energy also has a number of other support initiatives still available to customers, especially those who are struggling. These include:

• Electric blankets: free electric blankets for customers, resulting in an average winter saving of £150 per household, with 60,000 distributed so far
• Heat loss cameras: loaning thermal imaging cameras to help customers identify and fix draughts, reducing their energy usage
• Energy Helpers: providing tailored in-person energy-saving advice through the Energy Helpers scheme, with over 300,000 homes visited so far
• Saving Sessions: running Saving Sessions to help customers save money by using less energy during peak periods, with over 2 million participants and £10 million in savings paid out over the last two winters

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