Soaring heating bills have, in days gone by, made it more appealing for pensioners to fly south for the winter than stay put and turn up the thermostat.
And no doubt some will have chuckled at the notion their winter fuel allowance – the £200 or £300 per household paid by the government towards heating costs – will have helped pay for an extended stay in Benidorm or Albufeira.
The new government’s decision to axe this payment for all but the neediest older people will affect an estimated 10 million pensioners. Whatever their status, they must wait until April for it to be made up to them in the form of a £460 rise in the basic pension.
