Brit pensioners in Spain to lose Winter Fuel Allowance

British pensioners enjoying a warm retirement in Spain will soon no longer receive the Winter Fuel Allowance

British pensioners living in Spain are to have their Winter Fuel Allowance removed in a proposed benefit shakeup designed to save the British taxpayer more than £17 million.

Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith has announced that pensioners who reside in countries with an annual average temperature that is higher than the warmest region in the UK will no longer be eligible for the benefit from next year…

This new ruling means that pensioners residing on the Costa del Sol – where the annual average temperature is a balmy 18c compared to the UK threshold, which is set at a chilly 5.6c – will soon no longer be able to claim the benefit, which can be worth up to £300 annually.

Likewise, those living in Greece, France and Portugal will be subject to similar changes. Interestingly, British expats of pensionable age living in Italy will not be affected thanks to mountainous northern Italy boasting a colder winter climate than the UK (I’m guessing Iain Duncan Smith has never been to Spain’s Sierra Nevada in January).

“The huge increase in UK winter fuel payments made to people living in European countries equates to a near doubling in costs to the British taxpayer and follows a ridiculous ruling by the European Court of Justice,” said Duncan Smith.

“The winter fuel payment is intended to help British pensioners with heating costs,” the pensions secretary added, before revealing that the rule changes will come into effect in the winter of 2015/16. “We are changing the rules so that it no longer goes to people in European countries with an average winter temperature higher than the warmest part of the UK.”

It may seem a quasi-scientific approach to a sensitive issue, but many will argue that it is long overdue. For the majority of Spain’s estimated 50,000 British pensioners, the change is unlikely to drastically alter their lifestyle too much. On the whole, Brits who retire to Spain tend to be financially secure, and would perhaps even welcome a more sensible use of their taxes.

In 2012, following a ruling by the European Court of Justice, winter fuel payments to British expats in Europe rose by 70 per cent, with those aged over 60 eligible for £200, while those over 80 in receipt of £300.

Last year, a record £21.4 million was paid to more than 115,000 claimants, which was almost double what was spent the year before.