Winter fuel payments will extend to all retirement times with an income or less than £ 35,000 per year, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced.
The Treasury said that the change will cost around 1.25 billion pounds sterling in England and Wales, but would always save 450 million pounds sterling if the universal allowance had been kept.
Live Politics: Chancellor makes the announcement of winter fuel
Abandon the advantages for all retirees was One of the first things that work has done in government, Although it is not in their manifesto.
The change meant that only those who are in retirement credit or other advantages were eligible – a deeply unpopular decision which was largely blamed for the part Poor performance in the local elections of May.
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Ms. Reeves said: “The targeting of winter fuel payments was a difficult decision, but the right decision due to the inheritance that had been left to us by the previous government.
“It is also true that we continue to test this payment so that it is targeted and fair, rather than restoring eligibility for everyone, including the richest.
“But we have now acted to extend the eligibility for winter fuel payment, so no retiree on a lower income will miss.”
The government reported its intention to broaden eligibility last month, but No details were given to what the new threshold might look like.
The lack of clarity threatened to crush Examination of Ms. Reeves expenses On Wednesday, when she indicates what funding was allocated to each government department in the next three years.
The Chancellor faced questions on winter fuel several times during a speech in Manchester last week to promote a Financing regulations of 15.6 billion sterling pounds for local transport projects,, When she said that changes would be in place for this winter.
However, the ministers still could not give more details, the scientific secretary, Peter Kyle, said on Sunday to Sky News that the new eligibility would be triggered “in the perspective of the fall”.
It is still not clear how the new policy will be funded, the costs to be recorded in the fall budget.
Asked by Sky News’ Deputy political editor Sam Coates If the change is a signal for the markets that it cannot say no to its deputies, Ms. Reeves said that after her expenditure examination, “the markets and the public will be able to see the public services living in their means”.
‘Humiliating u-tour’
The conservative chief, Kemi Badenoch, said: “Keir Starmer rushed to eliminate a mess from his own manufacture. I have challenged him repeatedly to reverse his insensitive decision to withdraw the winter fuel payments, and each time Starmer has rejected my criticism with arrogance.
“This humiliating time will be refined for forced retirees to choose between heating and eating last winter. The Prime Minister should now apologize for his terrible judgment. ”
The Treasury said that by fixing the threshold to an income of £ 35,000, more than three quarters of retirees – around nine million people – will benefit.
The universal system meant that 11.4 million retirees were in reception of the advantage, which was reduced to 1.5 million when the initial average test was brought.
The new threshold is higher than the income level of pensioners in poverty and, as a whole, the average profits, said the Treasury.
No pensioner will have to take any measure because they will automatically receive payment this winter.