- Conference
- 2025 National Retired Members Conference
- Date
- 12 June 2025
- Decision
- Carried as Amended
Conference notes the announcement by Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, on Monday 9th June 2025 that pensioners in England and Wales with an annual income £35,000 or below will now be eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment – an estimated nine million people out of the ten million people who had it removed last winter.
The Government’s major U-turn shows they can be pressurised to do something.
Conference supports the full reinstatement of Winter Fuel Payment for all pensioners otherwise it is still a means tested benefit where one million will not receive it.
Conference opposes means testing and would respond to the argument ‘why should wealthier pensioners receive a benefit’ by making the following points:
a) that the point of a progressive taxation system is that those liable for tax, pay more if they have a higher income;
b) a means tested system means the Government can change the cut-off point either by reducing it and or by not uplifting the cut-off point at all or increasing it by less than the real inflation level.
Conference believes that the traditional position of the Labour and Trade Union Movement is to oppose means testing and we stand by that.
We believe that the Winter Fuel Payment amounts should be increased in line with the RPI.
The U-turn should give us confidence that more can be won.
We believe that UNISON Retired members have a key role to play in fighting for the full reinstatement of the Winter Fuel Payment.
Conference calls on the National Retired Members Committee to:
1. Continue to campaign on this issue as a matter of urgency;
2. Raise our views with all relevant bodies of our union so that there is campaign across the union calling, in the strongest possible terms, for the full reinstatement of the Winter Fuel Payment, including payment of all arrears from any non-payment last winter with the arrears to be paid before 1st December 2025;
3. Campaign with other relevant pensioner organisations for points 1. and 2. above;
4. Work with regional and branch retired members groups to highlight our views, to raise awareness of the means testing issues amongst retired members and encourage such groups to raise the matter of Winter Fuel Payments at branch and regional levels;
5. Provide regular campaign guidance and updates on progress;
6. Encourage retired members to participate in and support branch, regional, and
national UNISON initiatives and campaigns by pensioner organisations to:
i) fully reinstate this essential benefit;
ii) uplift the £200 payment level in line with the RPI since the winter of 2000;
and
iii) uplift the £100 additional payment level for each household where there is at least one person who is 80 years old or over, in line with the RPI since the winter of 2003.