Winter fuel: 780,000 UK pensioners entitled to payment will lose it

Government data shows most of those who do not claim their pension credit will miss out under means-testing

About 780,000 pensioners who need the winter fuel payment will lose out on it when Labour begins means-testing the benefit, according to the government's own equality analysis.

After the government was criticised for not carrying out a full impact assessment of the change, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) quietly released a document on Friday night which predicted that about 780,000 pensioners whose low incomes mean they are eligible for the payment will stop getting it when it becomes means-tested.