Shadow Pensions Minister Nigel Waterson will today call on Labour to abandon changes introduced last month which mean pensioners can no longer backdate their pension credit claim by more than 3 months.
Nigel described the changes as “an appalling act of penny-pinching”, as the pension credit can boost a single pensioner’s income from the basic state pension of £90.70 to £124.05.
The Citizens Advice Bureau have said they are “concerned” that the changes would make it “less likely that the most vulnerable older people will claim their full entitlement”.
And Nigel stressed, “It will reduce the take-up of benefits, increase pensioner poverty, and cause needless distress to many of our oldest citizens. Ministers should hang their heads in shame.”