Pensioners could be plunged into poverty as their triple lock uplift is wiped by rising council tax bills and lost winter fuel payments campaigners have warned.
New research has revealed that pensioners living in the poorest areas of the country could see up to 85% of their monthly payment eaten up.
A study by The Telegraph showed that state pension will rise by £472 a year from April but pensioners in the country’s hardest-hit areas are could see their uplift almost entirely wiped out.
Now Tory MP Kevin Hollinrake, who represents Thirsk and Malton, has slammed the Government saying that it’s favouring handing over cash to unions and foreign countries rather than pensioners.
He said: “Labour’s views on pensioners has been laid bare in recent months – they’d rather leave them out in the cold so they can sort pay settlements for union barons and hand billions to foreign countries,” reports The Telegraph.
Kevin Hollinrake said Labour have “snatched away” the winter fuel allowance and has had to force councils to rise council tax to pay for the new jobs tax.
The research analysed every local authority region in England and checked how much council tax bills were going up and how much the average winter fuel payment made to pensioners was last year.
Pensioners across the country could be forced into poverty (Image: Getty Images)
It then concluded where pensioners were least likely to feel the uplift’s benefits.
Bradford will be the worst hit with those in Birmingham, Somerset, Trafford, Windsor and Maidenhead next in line, reports The Telegraph.
Owners of a Band D property in Bradford can expect to pay an extra £170 this year.
Meanwhile the average winter fuel allowance paid out to retirees by the council in 2023/24 was worth £230.
In total, it means retirees not in receipt of pension credit, and therefore not eligible for the winter fuel payment, will lose £401. It leaves them with just £71 of the initial £472 state pension uplift.
Those in Bradford will be most heavily affected, says The Telegraph (Image: Getty Images)
Dennis Reed, of campaigning body Silver Voices, told The Telegraph, which carried out the analysis: “Older people on fixed incomes are facing a cruel double whammy, squeezing their living standards to the point of poverty.”
A Government spokesman said: “Millions of pensioners will see their state pension rise by up to £1,900 this parliament through our commitment to the triple lock, and financial support is available to help pensioners on low incomes with council tax bills.
“We have taken a stricter approach to council tax rises than the previous government, only agreeing to a limited number of increases for those in desperate need, and we expect that taxpayers in these areas will still pay less than the average compared to similar councils.”
