State pensioners being handed free £350 cash payment after losing Winter Fuel Allowance

State pensioners can claim a £350 free cash payment to help with energy bills after the £300 Winter Fuel Allowance was axed. Suffolk Community Foundation has launched the 14th year of its annual Surviving Winter appeal.

This is in response to winter fuel payments being slashed. The Suffolk charity said it's campaign has become even more relevant this year because ninety per cent of pensioners are estimated to lose the £300 sums from the Department for Work and Pensions ( DWP ).

£175 could be used to help someone pay for gas or electricity, whereas £350 could provide 500 litres of heating oil, the charity has said. The Suffolk charity said its campaign "has taken on even more importance than ever this year as an estimated 90% of older people living in the county are due to lose the winter fuel payment following changes to government policy".

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"This also means Suffolk Community Foundation can no longer raise funds by asking people who do not need the payment to consider donating it to help others instead." Its interim chief executive, Anna Hughes, said: "Surviving Winter is now in its 14th year and has raised more than £1.5m so far.

"This has provided a lifeline for many thousands of people by helping them to stay safe and warm as the weather turns colder." Ms Hughes said with the new government changes to the allowance, "many older people are extremely anxious about the high cost of energy and are having to make difficult choices between heating and eating every single day".

"The changes that are being made nationally mean that the need for support is now even greater than ever," she said. "But Surviving Winter can help – which is why we are appealing to anyone who feels able to donate to consider doing so.

"A gift of £175 could help someone pay for gas or electricity, while £350 could provide 500 litres of heating oil."