Winter Fuel Allowance: Glimmer of hope for expats?
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Expats faced with losing their winter fuel allowance have been given a glimmer hope in the shape of Tory MP, Sir Roger Gale.
Following the news last month that expat pensioners in countries where the average temperature is higher than the south-west England, Sir Roger has created a “prayer” which he hopes that other MPs will sign to stop the change going through.
It is expected that around 95,000 expat pensioners will be affected by the change, which would see them lose up to £300 if they are over 80 and £200 if they are under.
Last month, Iain Duncan Smith called the winter fuel allowance for expats an “obscene waste of taxpayers’ money” and that the British tax payer should not be funding the payments for those “who have retired to the Mediterranean and enjoy warmer weather”.
The countries where expat pensioners will be affected include Spain, France, Greece, Portugal, Malta, Gibraltar and Cyprus from September this year.
However, it was discovered that the average temperatures in some countries also took into account tropical regions of countries such as Martinique when calculating the average temperature of France.
In response expats inundated the message boards of MailOnline, Telegraph and other online forums to register their disgust, highlighting that in some regions, the temperatures are actually as cold if not colder than in the UK.
At the very least it is hoped that the prayer created will bring about a discussion in parliament to evaluate the decision before it comes into place.
Sir Roger has urged those expats who are likely to be most affected by the removal of the winter fuel allowance to write to the local MP of their last UK address and explain their situation in full, and try to encourage them to sign the prayer.
He advised pensioners to “indicate the personal effect that the removal of the winter fuel allowance will have on them”.
Whether the efforts will work is yet to be seen, but it’s one of the few options which have the potential to stand a chance of reversing the decision.
If you are unsure who to write to, you should visit http://www.theyworkforyou.com/mps/ and enter your last UK post code to discover who you should write to.