Irish pensioners to pocket £755 more than British retirees | Politics | News

Irish retirees will reportedly get as much as £755 more energy support than British pensioners following Labour’s raid on winter fuel payments.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is under increasing pressure over the decision to take away payments worth as much as £300 from 10 million pensioners, with the government insisting tough decisions are needed to address a £22billion “blackhole” they claim the Tories left them.

The decision to scrap winter fuel payments for all but the poorest pensioners was estimated to save £1.4 billion.

Reeves opted to retrict the payments winter fuel payments to those on pension credit with a weekly income of £218 and under. But in the Republic of Ireland, retirees in their seventies with an income of £429 a week and under are entitled to support during the colder months worth £28 per week, The Telegraph reports.

It means Irish pensioners with with income of up to £22,308 can claim around £750 to heat their homes annually, while British retirees making as little as £11,500 per year will get no support.

In Ireland pensioners can collect a pension of up to £233 a week, or £12,100 a year, after 48 years of contributions.

British retirees must make 35 years of contributions to collect full new state pension, which amounts to £221.20 a week, or £11,502 a year, though the state pension triple lock is expexted to raise it to £11,962 in 2025.

Last week the government came under renewed pressure to think the decision after receiving a boost of up to £10billion ahead of the Budget.

On Friday, members of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) said Threadneedle Street will shrink its balance sheet by carrying out £100bn of quantitative tightening (QT) over the next 12 months.

The BoE policymakers’ decision to slow the sale of government bonds means Reeves has up to £10bn of headroom ahead of her first Budget on October 30, reducing the need to clash spending and bring in hefty tax hikes.

Rachael Maskell, the Labour MP for York Central, said the ministers should “absolutely” review the change after the Bank of England’s decision.

“It’s a responsible decision if they have got additional funding. I think there are many demands, but this is most urgent to keep people safe this winter,” she told The Times.

Defending the move again in her speech at the Labour Party Annual Conference today, Reeves said: “We cancelled road and rail projects promised by the Conservatives, which they did not budget for.

“And I made the choice to means test the winter fuel payment so that it’s only targeted to those most in need. I know that not everyone in this hall or in the country will agree with every decision that I make.

“I will not duck those decisions for political expediency, not for personal advantage,” she added.

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