‘Grotesque’ plan to reduce access to winter fuel allowance leaves pensioners feeling ‘ashamed’

Published

7 months ago

September 23, 2024

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“I’m deeply concerned about the winter,” 81-year-old Kevin McGrath tells me when I meet him at his home in Corby, Northamptonshire.

He is recovering from a major eye operation when we sit down to chat, but he cannot contain his frustration.

The former Roman Catholic monk turned social worker said he has spent all of his life trying to help people and described Labour’s plan to take the winter fuel allowance away from millions of pensioners as “evil”.

“Of all the wealth in Britain, they target the ones who have very little in life,” he said.

Kevin and his wife recently moved into a small, two-bedroom apartment on the edge of town to cut down on energy bills.

Neither have a private pension and their only source of income is their state pension.

In July, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced that from this winter, pensioners in England and Wales will no longer be entitled to the winter fuel payment unless they receive Pension Credit or certain other means-tested benefits.

More than 10 million pensioners in England and Wales received the winter fuel payment last winter.

The government says the move will help them plug an estimated £22bn black hole in the public finances.

“I fully understand that the government has difficult decisions to make, but why are they starting at the bottom, why don’t they start at the top. It’s evil. It’s a crime,” said Kevin.

To be eligible, Kevin will have to apply to see if he meets the criteria to continue to receive the benefit, something he says is a source of embarrassment among older people.

“Who decides that we haven’t got enough money to live on? I speak to my friends who tell me they are ashamed and embarrassed to have to go through this process. These are people who have worked all of their lives.”

Data shared exclusively with Sky News by the charity Independent Age reveals growing concern about the policy among older people.

In August, the number of calls about pension credit, one of the main factors in assessing eligibility, was three-and-a-half times higher than the average for the first six months of the year.

And more than two in five calls in the same month were about pension credit, up from one in six in the first half of the year.

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Independent Age chief executive Joanna Elson CBE said: “This data from our helpline clearly shows that many people in later life are worried about the UK government’s decision to limit the winter fuel payment to those that receive pension credit.

“The people we speak to are frightened about losing a vital lifeline this winter, many are struggling on a low income and will be forced to make drastic cutbacks.

“Others tell us it is the first time they have reached out for support, as the winter ahead feels very bleak.”

The charity says it is urging the government to delay its plans to means test the winter fuel payment until more people can apply for pension credit.

The government says the average state pension will rise under Labour.

A commitment to maintain the triple lock on the state pension, which guarantees annual increases in line with whichever is the higher of inflation, 2.5 per cent or annual earnings, has boosted pension payments since it was introduced in 2012.

Now Labour says the triple lock will remain in place for the rest of the parliament, which means the full UK state pension could rise by about £460 a year from April 2025.

Kevin said he will have to wait and see what the winter brings and says he is disappointed in the new government.

“I find it sad that if you are elderly and you’re not economically active then you don’t matter. There’s something grotesque about it all.”

A government spokesperson told Sky News it is “committed to supporting pensioners”, adding over 12 million people will see their state pension rise by £1,700 this parliament because of the triple lock.

“Given the dire state of the public finances we have inherited, it’s right we target support to those who need it most,” they said.

“We urge anyone who thinks they may be entitled to pension credit to check their eligibility and have already seen a 115% increase in claims following the launch of our awareness campaign.”

Politics

Nearly 400,000 FTX users risk losing $2.5 billion in repayments

Published

3 hours ago

April 6, 2025

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Nearly 400,000 FTX users risk losing .5 billion in repayments

Nearly 400,000 creditors of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX risk missing out on $2.5 billion in repayments after failing to begin the mandatory Know Your Customer (KYC) verification process.

Roughly 392,000 FTX creditors have failed to complete or at least take the first steps of the mandatory Know Your Customer verification, according to an April 2 court filing in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

FTX users originally had until March 3 to begin the verification process to collect their claims.

“If a holder of a claim listed on Schedule 1 attached thereto did not commence the KYC submission process with respect to such claim on or prior to March 3, 2025, at 4:00 pm (ET) (the “KYC Commencing Deadline”), 2 such claim shall be disallowed and expunged in its entirety,” the filing states.

Nearly 400,000 FTX users risk losing $2.5 billion in repayments — *FTX court filing. Source:* *Bloomberglaw.com*

The KYC deadline has been extended to June 1, 2025, giving users another chance to verify their identity and claim eligibility. Those who fail to meet the new deadline may have their claims permanently disqualified.

According to the court documents, claims under $50,000 could account for roughly $655 million in disallowed repayments, while claims over $50,000 could amount to $1.9 billion — bringing the total at-risk funds to more than $2.5 billion.

The next round of FTX creditor repayments is set for May 30, 2025, with over $11 billion expected to be repaid to creditors with claims of over $50,000.

Under FTX’s recovery plan, 98% of creditors are expected to receive at least 118% of their original claim value in cash.

How FTX users can complete KYC

Many FTX users have reported problems with the KYC process.

However, users who were unable to submit their KYC documentation can resubmit their application and restart the verification process, according to an April 5 X post from Sunil, FTX creditor and Customer Ad-Hoc Committee member.

Impacted users should email FTX support (support@ftx.com) to receive a ticket number, then log in to the support portal, create an account, and re-upload the necessary KYC documents.

FTX’s Bahamian subsidiary, FTX Digital Markets, processed the first round of repayments in February, distributing $1.2 billion to creditors.

The crypto industry is still recovering from the collapse of FTX and more than 130 subsidiaries launched a series of insolvencies that led to the industry’s longest-ever crypto winter, which saw Bitcoin’s (BTC) price bottom out at around $16,000.

While not a “market-moving catalyst” in itself, the beginning of the FTX repayments is a positive sign for the maturation of the crypto industry, which may see a “significant portion” reinvested into cryptocurrencies, Alvin Kan, chief operating officer at Bitget Wallet, told Cointelegraph.

Magazine: XRP win leaves Ripple a ‘bad actor’ with no crypto legal precedent set

Politics

Sir Keir Starmer pledges to protect UK companies from Trump tariff ‘storm’

Published

5 hours ago

April 6, 2025

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Sir Keir Starmer pledges to protect UK companies from Trump tariff 'storm'

Sir Keir Starmer has said his government stands ready to use industrial policy to “shelter British business from the storm” after Donald Trump’s new 10% tariff kicked in.

The UK was among a number of countries hit with the lowest import duty rate following the president’s announcement on 2 April – which he called ‘Liberation Day’, while other nations, such as Vietnam, Cambodia and China face much higher US levies.

But a global trade war will hurt the UK’s open economy.

The prime minister said “these new times demand a new mentality”, after the 10% tax on British imports into America came into force on Saturday. A 25% US levy on all foreign car imports was introduced on Thursday.

It comes as Jaguar Land Rover announced it would “pause” shipments to the US for a month, as firms grapple with the new taxes.

On Saturday, the car manufacturer said it was working to “address the new trading terms” and was looking to “develop our mid to longer-term plans”.

Referring to the tariffs, Sir Keir said “the immediate priority is to keep calm and fight for the best deal”.

Writing in The Sunday Telegraph, he said that in the coming days “we will turbocharge plans that will improve our domestic competitiveness”, adding: “We stand ready to use industrial policy to help shelter British business from the storm.”

It is believed a number of announcements could be made soon as ministers look to encourage growth.

NI contribution rate for employers goes up

From Sunday, the rate of employer NICs (national insurance contributions) increased from 13.8% to 15%.

At the same time, firms will also pay more because the government lowered the salary threshold at which companies start paying NICs from £9,100 to £5,000.

Also, the FTSE 100 of leading UK companies had its worst day of trading since the start of the pandemic on Friday, with banks among some of the firms to suffer the sharpest losses.

Sir Keir said: “This week, the government will do everything necessary to protect Britain’s national interest. Because when global economic sands are shifting, our laser focus on delivering for Britain will not. And these new times demand a new mentality.”

UK spared highest tariff rates

Some of the highest rates have been applied to “worst offender” countries including some in Southeast Asia. Imports from Cambodia will be subject to a 49% tariff, while those from Vietnam will face a 46% rate. Chinese goods will be hit with a 34% tariff.

Imports from France will have a 20% tariff, the rate which has been set for European Union nations. These will come into effect on 9 April.

Sir Keir has been speaking to foreign leaders on the phone over the weekend, including French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, to discuss the tariff changes.

A Downing Street spokesperson said of the conversation between Sir Keir and Mr Macron: “They agreed that a trade war was in nobody’s interests but nothing should be off the table and that it was important to keep business updated on developments.

“The prime minister and president also shared their concerns about the global economic and security impact, particularly in Southeast Asia.”

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Trump’s warning

Mr Trump has warned Americans the tariffs “won’t be easy”, but urged them to “hang tough”.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said: “We are bringing back jobs and businesses like never before.

“Already, more than FIVE TRILLION DOLLARS OF INVESTMENT, and rising fast!

“THIS IS AN ECONOMIC REVOLUTION, AND WE WILL WIN. HANG TOUGH, it won’t be easy, but the end result will be historic.”

Politics

Billionaire investor would ‘not be surprised’ if Trump postpones tariffs

Published

8 hours ago

April 6, 2025

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<div>Billionaire investor would 'not be surprised' if Trump postpones tariffs</div>

Crypto-friendly billionaire investor Bill Ackman is considering the possibility that US President Donald Trump may pause the implementation of his controversial proposed tariffs on April 7.

“One would have to imagine that President Donald Trump’s phone has been ringing off the hook. The practical reality is that there is insufficient time for him to make deals before the tariffs are scheduled to take effect,” Ackman, founder of Pershing Square Capital Management, said in an April 5 X post.

Trump may postpone tariffs to make more deals, says Ackman

“I would, therefore, not be surprised to wake up Monday with an announcement from the President that he was postponing the implementation of the tariffs to give him time to make deals,” Ackman added.

On April 2, Trump signed an executive order establishing a 10% baseline tariff on all imports from all countries, which took effect on April 5. Harsher reciprocal tariffs on trading partners with which the US has the largest trade deficits are scheduled to kick in on April 9.

Ackman — who famously said “crypto is here to stay” after the FTX collapse in November 2022 — said Trump captured the attention of the world and US trading partners, backing the tariffs as necessary after what he called an “unfair tariff regime” that hurt US workers and economy “over many decades.”

Following Trump’s announcement on April 2, the US stock market shed more value during the April 4 trading session than the entire crypto market is currently worth. The fact that crypto held up better than the US stock market caught the attention of both crypto industry supporters and skeptics.

United States, Donald Trump — *Source:* *Cameron Winklevoss*

Prominent crypto voices such as BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes and Gemini co-founder Cameron Winklevoss also recently showed their support for Trump’s tariffs.

Ackman said a pause would be a logical move by Trump — not just to allow time for closing potential deals but also to give companies of all sizes “time to prepare for changes.” He added: