Martin Lewis shares DWP 'loophole' for £300 Winter Fuel Payment eligibility

Some pensioners could be eligible for payments up to £300

Martin Lewis has shared a 'loophole' for pensioners eligible for Winter Fuel Allowance from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP). Changes are being brought in to the benefit this winter which means that some pensioners could end up missing out.

But if you fall into a certain category you may still be eligible for Winter Fuel Payments of up to £300 through Pension Credit - even if your income is above the threshold. Under current rules, you must be on a low income, live in England, Scotland or Wales and have reached the state pension age of 66 to qualify for pension credit.

The threshold is an income below £218.15 per week if you are single or £332.95 if you have a partner. But according to financial guru Martin, the threshold for Pension Credit will be £82 higher a week if you are claiming Attendance Allowance.

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This does not include the money you are earning from Attendance Allowance. The benefit helps with extra costs if you are of state pension age and disabled, Mirror reports.

Not all pensioners are aware that they may be eligible for Attendance Allowance as it is one of the lesser-known tax-free benefits. Martin shared one letter of gratitude from reader Adele, who wrote: "Thank you for bringing Attendance Allowance to my attention.

"I’ve successfully claimed for my dad who has chronic arthritis - so he now gets an extra £72/wk. Now he has Attendance Allowance, he’s also eligible for a further £35/wk Pension Credit, and his Housing Benefit has been increased by £40/wk. So a total extra £150/wk - a huge help, and he will still be eligible for Winter Fuel Allowance."

The Money Saving Expert founder recently urged older Britons on Pension Credit to make sure they are getting Winter Fuel Payments - and said almost 900,000 people who are eligible are not claiming. He told ITV1's Good Morning Britain on Friday, September 27: "The people who the government says has said should get the Winter Fuel Payment is those on Pension Credit.

"Which is a state top up to people on the lowest incomes. And up to 880,000 people on Pension Credit aren’t claiming it. Now by definition almost, not quite there’s a couple of nuances, almost everybody entitled to Pension Credit will not be getting the full state pension, because if they did they wouldn’t be getting Pension Credit.

"Therefore they’ll be getting less than the full state pension. So they’ll likely be on the old state pension, which is a lower rise, and they won’t be getting all of it."