The average wait has doubled from 25 working days in September to 52 working days in October, leaving pensioners at risk of facing cold weather without winter fuel payments
Waiting times for pension credit claims have doubled in the space of just one month amid fears the government cannot process applications fast enough ahead of imminent cuts to winter fuel payments.
The total number of outstanding applications waiting to be processed has meanwhile rocketed by 125% since the winter fuel payment cuts were announced in July.
Figures released by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) show that the average time it takes to process applications for pension credit – the benefit paid to poorer pensioners – lengthened from 25 working days in the week ending on 25 September, to 52 working days in the week ending on 21 October.
Full story here – www.bigissue.com/news/social-justice/pension-credit-wait-times-dwp-winter-fuel-help/
