Former DWP employee on future plans to means-test State Pension payments

dailyrecord.co.uk:

More than 10 million older people are missing out on Winter Fuel Payments this year because they are not in receipt of a means-tested benefit such as Pension Credit.

The Labour Government insisted the policy change was necessary to plug a £22 billion black hole in the public purse left by the Conservative administration.On Thursday, Kemi Badenoch told LBC that the Tories will consider means-testing the triple Lock, in what would be a major policy shift for the party.

However, any changes to the current uprating policy for the State Pension look unlikely, according to a former Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) employee with over 42 years experience dealing with State Pensions and benefits.Sandra Wrench from Bedford wrote a nine-page letter to the DWP last year, submitted through her local MP, Mohammad Yasin, shortly after Rachel Reeves announced the policy change to the Winter Fuel Payment.Mrs Wrench expressed her concern over the prospect of means-testing the State Pension and explained why the UK Government would face “great difficulty” implementing such a massive policy change due to the complexity of the contributory benefit.Responding to the ex-DWP employee’s concerns, the then Pensions Minister Emma Reynolds confirmed that the UK Government “have no plans” to means-test the State Pension.In a letter to Mohammad Yasin, Ms Reynolds wrote: “I am sorry that speculation and rumour has caused Mrs Wrench undue concern.

Ensuring a better deal for current and future pensioners is a priority for this Government. “I can confirm that the State Pension is not subject to a means-test, and we have no plans to change this.”The 72-year-old wrote the letter with the aim of getting a response that would give older people peace of