The Labour government’s decision to scrap winter fuel payments for about 10 million pensioners in England and Wales has led to significant debate.
Multiple articles and social media posts in support of the move suggested that a significant proportion of those 65 and over were in fact millionaires, and did not need the benefit.
27 per cent of pensioners are millionaires.
Social media posts
CLAIM: “27% of pensioners are millionaires”
Ferret Fact Service looked at this claim and found it Mostly True.
Evidence
The policy, announced by chancellor Rachel Reeves on 29 July, means pensioners in England and Wales who do not receive means-tested benefits won’t be eligible for winter fuel payments. Reeves claimed this was part of cost-cutting measures enforced on the UK Government due to a “black hole” in public finances left by the previous Conservative government.
This decision does not impact Scotland directly, as winter fuel payments are devolved to the Scottish Government. Scotland’s public finance minister Ivan McKee said on Tuesday he was not sure if the Scottish Government would be able to keep universal winter fuel payments in place, as there would be a knock-on effect on Scottish funding from the UK Government decision.
Some posters on social media and political columnists defended the move, suggesting many pensioners did not need a payment for their fuel bills.
What are pensioners entitled to?
Prior to the announcement, those born before September 1957 have been eligible for cash payments of between £200 and £600 each year. These were available to everyone above pensionable age. The UK Government has now restricted this payment to people who are receiving pension credit or some other forms of benefits.
These are income support, income-based jobseeker’s allowance, income-related employment and support allowance and universal credit.
This means about 1.5 million people will be eligible for the payment, compared to 11.4 million when the payment was universal.
Where did the pensioner millionaires claim come from?
The data underpinning the claim that 27 per cent of pensioners are millionaires comes from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Its latest data on wealth and equality in the UK was released in 2023, covering between 2018 and 2020.
The statistics show how household wealth has grown for those aged 65 and over. Between April 2018 and March 2020, 27 per cent of people in this age bracket live in households with total wealth of more than £1m.
This has increased since 2006 to 2008, when seven per cent of 65+ people lived in households worth more than £1m.
How do you define a millionaire?
The statistics from the ONS measure total household wealth. This is not simply a measure of how much disposable wealth people have in the bank. It also takes into account the amount of money in household pensions, as well as the value of their property.
The increase in millionaire households over the past two decades is largely due to increases in house prices and pension value. According to the Resolution Foundation, 90 per cent of UK personal wealth is held in pensions or housing.
The figures also refer to the number of people who live in households valued at £1m or more, rather than individual millionaires. This means two people aged 65+ living in a household worth £1m would both be included in the millionaire category, despite that wealth being split between them.
Ferret Fact Service verdict: Mostly True
The latest statistics, from 2020, show that 27 percent of those 65 and over live in households with a total wealth of £1m or more. The data does not show whether these individuals are millionaires, and much of the wealth comes from house and pension value, rather than disposable financial wealth.
Mostly True – The claim is still true, but requires further information or clarification to create a full picture
Ferret Fact Service (FFS) is a non-partisan fact checker, and signatory to the International Fact-Checking Network fact-checkers’ code of principles.
All the sources used in our checks are publicly available and the FFS fact-checking methodology can be viewed here.
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