‘I’m 74 and without the Winter Fuel Allowance I can’t afford to heat my home’

Mike Evans, 74, has lived in the same house with his wife in Worcestershire for well over 20 years. He’s never seen his energy bills this high before.

His energy supplier, Octopus, gave him an estimate this month that his annual electricity and gas bill will be about £1,700.

This is up from £1,400 the year before, coming after energy regulator Ofgem increased the energy price cap by 10% and surged bills to £1,717 on average.

‘The bills are the worst they’ve ever been. We never used to really think about putting the heating on or anything, it wasn’t a massive deal,’ the former electrician tells Metro.

‘But now it’s all-consuming. It’s bigger than our food bill, bigger than everything. We probably won’t be able to have the heating on at all.’

Mike is one of 3.9 million vulnerable pensioners facing a bitterly cold winter according to a new survey – and one of millions facing a winter without the Winter Fuel Allowance.

Around 11,400,000 retired people once qualified for a one-off discount worth a minimum of £200 on their fuel bills every winter.

But in September, MPs voted to make the Winter Fuel Allowance means-tested. Now only 1,500,000 vulnerable people over 65 on benefits are eligible.

Mike is narrowly over the threshold for the Winter Fuel Allowance, missing out on the maximum £300 he previously received.

‘I got it when I was 65, so nine years ago, it meant we could turn on the heating when it was as required, rather than when completely necessary,’ he explains.

‘You could be comfortable. You could sit there in 20°C. But now that’s gone. The wife just goes to bed and watches TV to keep warn There are a lot of people worse off… single people and widows will suffer.

‘For wealthy people, it’s a drop in the ocean. But for people like myself who receive a private and state pension that pushes us over the limit of any benefits you can get – they’re the ones who are suffering.’

Given the Winter Fuel Allowance was introduced by Labour in 1997, Mike says he was taken aback that the same party decades later would restrict it.

Now Mike has no idea how he and his wife will get through the winter ahead. ‘I just have to keep moving, walk the dog, keep wrapped up warm and do what we can,’ he says.

Cold temperatures can be especially dangerous for people aged 65 and over as immune systems weaken with age.

When our immune cells feel the chill, it makes us more susceptible to respiratory conditions, such as asthma attacks, and viral infections like the flu or Covid-19. These viruses also thrive in frigid temperatures, being able to replicate faster.

Half of those over 65 feel physical discomfort in colder temperatures, according to a survey conducted by SpeedComfort, an eco-friendly fan manufacturer. This is taking a toll on the mental health of about the same number of elderly people.

Forty-six per cent feel less motivated in the cold and a quarter feel they get more sick when their house is freezing. Pensioners surveyed say, on average, they expect temperatures inside their homes will drop down to 13.9°C this winter.

‘With temperatures beginning to drop and the cost of bills continuing to rise, the next few months will present a significant challenge to many households across the UK,’ said SpeedComfort CEO Wouter Heuterman.

‘But for older and vulnerable people, the prospect of being cold at home this winter is particularly concerning, given the significant associated health risks.;

Mike’s house, which he’s owned for 23 years, isn’t well insulated so easily becomes cold. Some east-facing rooms barely get any sunlight.

He and his wife now switch anything and everything off to keep their bills down. ‘We only keep the kettle on for as long as we need to,’ he says.

‘We have a smart meter and you can see it racking up the cost, it’s quite scary. The heating is on a timer – set down to 16°C – so our pipes don’t freeze up.

‘Evening time we don’t have the heating on. We throw a blanket on – and winter hasn’t even started yet. We’re already feeling the effects of it.’

Devon, a cockapoo, sitting in his lap is his preferred way to keep warm.

Mike’s wife, a kitchen supervisor at an NHS hospital, is about a year or two away from retirement. Her state pension is unlikely to help cover the rising bills.

‘She’s really going to have to rely on my income,’ Mike says. ‘I can see it getting worse. Worse and worse and worse.’

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