Autumn Budget cuts Winter Fuel Payment and adds NHS and social care funding

Age UK published its response to the Autumn Budget on 4 November 2024, saying the Budget did not reverse the Winter Fuel Payment cut and that most pensioners affected by it would still lose the payment this year¹.

The charity said "nothing in the Budget changes the plight of the 4 in 5 pensioners on low and modest incomes set to lose their Winter Fuel Payment this year"¹. It added that it is not yet known "how severely as many as two and half million in this position will be hit"¹. Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director at Age UK, said: "The Government's cut to Winter Fuel Payment is coming in too quickly and hitting too many older people"¹. Our guide to the Winter Fuel Payment sets out who gets it and the income threshold.

On health and care spending, Age UK said: "The very significant additional funding announced in the Budget for the NHS is important for older people, its biggest users"¹. It also said: "We presume that quite a lot of the extra money will be taken up by the increase in Employers' National Insurance contributions"¹. On social care, the charity said: "The more limited extra money for social care will, we hope, help keep fragile provision from completely falling over, but we note it is split between adults' and children's social care so it will not go very far"¹.

Age UK welcomed the Carer's Allowance changes, saying: "We applaud the changes announced to Carers Allowance, which are seriously overdue"¹. The statement does not set out the value of those changes or the date they take effect. Our pages on Carer's Allowance and Carer Support Payment explain how the two payments differ.

The statement does not give figures for the NHS or social care funding, nor for the Carer's Allowance changes, and no further detail on those amounts has been reported here.

Why it matters for households

The Winter Fuel Payment cut means pensioners who were previously entitled to the payment but fall outside the new income threshold will not receive it this winter¹. Age UK estimates that four in five pensioners on low and modest incomes are set to lose the payment this year, and that as many as two and a half million people could be affected, though it says the severity of the impact is not yet known¹. The charity's view is that the change is arriving too quickly and reaching too many older people¹.

Extra NHS funding affects older people as the health service's biggest users, according to Age UK, though the charity expects a substantial part of the additional money to be absorbed by higher Employers' National Insurance contributions¹. The additional social care money is split between adults' and children's services, which Age UK says means it will not go very far¹.

The Carer's Allowance changes are described by Age UK as seriously overdue, but the statement does not say who gains, by how much, or from when¹. Households receiving Universal Credit or other benefits will see no change to those awards set out in this statement.

What happens next

The Winter Fuel Payment cut applies to this year's payments¹. Age UK says the timing and scale of the impact on affected pensioners is not yet known¹. No dates have been reported for when the Carer's Allowance changes take effect or when the NHS and social care funding will reach services¹.