300,000 pensioners miss out on Warm Home Discount Scheme

The Warm Home Discount Scheme is being expanded this upcoming winter to up to 1.7m pensioners in total. All individuals on a Pension Credit Guarantee can apply, and it is still offered to the vulnerable and people facing poverty as well. While the number of households that can benefit is being increased, figures from the government show that almost 300,000 pens will not claim their £140 discount.

There are different causes for this, but the fact is that many households are passing up on the payments from this benefit. The Department of Work and Pensions figures show that hundreds of thousands of these elderly pensioners will still not take up the scheme, and it can be for a variety of reasons.

Some individuals do not apply based on principle, as they do not want to be part of the welfare society that some people say is occurring in the UK. For those individuals, there is nothing that anyone can do to get them to place a claim, other then try to encourage them to take advantage of the scheme.

However there are many others of the 300,000 that just do not know they may qualify for aid. This is where it is important for local councils, national adverts, Pensioner groups, and Citizens Advise Bureaus to spread the word. These professionals can provide more information on how the Discount Scheme works, and assist with applications if needed. The aim of all these groups and individuals is to get as many households as possible to claim the Warm Home Discount Scheme, as the payments are significant.

While those groups can help, it is even more important for a pensioners friends of family members to let them know of the discount. They can do this by calling an elderly person in their family, or stop by those in the community, and tell them of the scheme that can save them on their heating bills.

One of the other problems with this expanded rollout is that many elderly people in the UK do not claim the Pension Credit, so they will not be able to enroll into the Warm Home Discount Scheme. In fact, national charity Age UK estimates that about 30 percent of elderly people can’t get the discount as they are not on the credit. This is also supported by figures from DWP. So this is hundreds of thousands of others that will not be eligible.

The scheme is not just for the elderly. Many other families and individuals on a low income can claim the discount, as they are also eligible. However, these households in poverty will usually have their fuel provider apply the discount to their account automatically. However the low income individual should confirm this occurs, as some people will need to ask their supplier for it. In some instances an energy provider will have different eligibility criteria in place for the programme.

Here is other assistance provided as well. For customers that fall into arrears on their fuel and utility bills, most suppliers will not cut off their electricity. This is the case for all households, whether they are on the Warm Home Discount Scheme or not. Companies across the nation have made this promise, so it should help keep people safe and warm during the winter months. But customers will still need to address those arrears when the weather warms up, so the bills will still need to be paid.