Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people began receiving Pension Credit after the announcement of changes to the eligibility criteria for the Winter Fuel Payment in 2024.

On 29 May 2025 we published Pension Credit applications and award statistics. This publication provides application volumes up to 25 May 2025. Pension Credit Statistics - May 2025

Comparing the period since the announcement on 29 July 2024 that Winter Fuel Payment (WFP) will be means tested (29 July 2024 to 25 May 2025) with the comparable period a year previous (31 July 2023 to 26 May 2024), DWP has:

• Received 285,600 Pension Credit claims – a 51% increase or 96,200 extra applications on the comparable period a year previous
• Cleared 308,800 Pension Credit claims - a 74% increase or 131,300 extra clearances on the comparable period a year previous, of which: 162,800 Pension Credit claims have been awarded – a 57% increase or 58,800 extra awards on the comparable period a year previous.

Please note, the figures presented are from DWP’s Pension Credit system which has previously been collected for internal departmental operations use only and has not been quality assured to Official Statistics publication standards.