Pensioners in Northern Ireland, reeling from cuts to their winter fuel support, are set to receive a one-off payment from Stormont in the coming weeks, according to details revealed at a recent committee hearing. The scheme will offer a payment of £100 to single pensioners living alone, while in households with more than one eligible pensioner, each will receive £50, reported ITV.
Officials from the Department for Communities are confident that the payments will be processed and deposited directly into bank accounts before the end of March. This initiative comes in the wake of a policy change by the Labour government last year, which saw approximately 249,000 pensioners lose their entitlement to the winter fuel support payment. The previous arrangement, which provided amounts ranging from £200 to £300, was curtailed to only include those pensioners receiving certain benefits.
