PENSIONERS in Northern Ireland who are no longer eligible for a winter fuel payment will get a one-off fuel support payment this month.
Northern Ireland’s Communities minister Gordon Lyons has confirmed the payment date for the £100 fuel support payment for pensioner households.
The payment, which will be made to those who previously received the winter fuel payment but are now no longer eligible, will start arriving in their bank accounts from Friday, March 21.
“Following the unexpected and unwelcome news last July that 180,000 pensioner households in Northern Ireland would no longer be eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment, I moved to secure Executive funding to mitigate the impact of the decision,” Minister Lyons explained.
“Having tasked my officials to prepare the legislative and operational groundwork to enable this payment to be made as quickly as possible, I can announce that the money will be in people’s accounts ahead of the expected end-of-March date and will begin arriving from Friday, March 21.”
He added: “Whilst I realise the payment will not fully cover the impact of changes to the Winter Fuel Payment, I hope it will go some way to supporting those affected.”
Some 250,000 pensioners, in roughly 180,000 households across Northern Ireland, became ineligible for the winter fuel payment following the government’s decision to means test it last year.