Desperate pensioners face months of waiting for a decision on whether they are eligible for winter fuel payments.

Campaigning charity Independent Age says its helpline has been inundated with calls from “frustrated and frightened” pensioners cutting back on food or sleeping in their hats and coats after the Department for Work and Pensions failed to process their application.

It follows the Government’s decision to means-test winter fuel payments of up to £300, so that they are now only available to pensioners receiving benefits such as Pension Credit.

However ministers admit they are failing to hit a deadline of processing claims within 50 working days.

Pensions minister Emma Reynolds said it is taking 65 working days on average – around three months – to conclude each one.

The Department for Work and Pensions also revealed it had 95,000 outstanding Pension Credit claims in mid-November, more than three times the figure of 25,000 claims in the same period last year.

Pensioners have until December 21 to submit an application and those that are successful will receive backdated payments, but the delays mean many are unlikely to receive cash before March when the worst of the cold weather is likely to be over. Others will face an agonising wait only to learn claims have been rejected.

Morgan Vine, Director of Policy and Influencing at Independent Age, said the number of outstanding Pension Credit applications was “incredibly concerning”.

She added: “Each one of these applications will be from someone who feels they don’t have enough money to live on, they need an answer to whether they will receive Pension Credit as soon as possible.

“It’s also clear from the increase in the average wait time to 65 working days, that the influx of Pension Credit applications sparked by tying the entitlement to the Winter Fuel Payment has had an impact.

“At Independent Age, our helpline has received numerous calls from frustrated and frightened older people that are waiting to find out if they will be getting Pension Credit and the Winter Fuel Payment

Some callers had told the helpline they had been waiting since May, she said.

“This financial uncertainty can lead people to make drastic cutbacks, with many of the people in later life we speak to already going to bed in hats and coats, eating less and visiting public places to stay warm. This shouldn’t be happening in modern Britain.”

It’s “not too late” for the Government to reconsider its changes to the Winter Fuel Payment, she said.

The Government has launched a publicity drive urging 880,000 pensioners eligible for Pension Credit but not receiving it to apply, and deployed an additional 500 staff to deal with applications.

The importance of winter fuel payments to many older people was highlighted by research from Age UK which found 77 percent of people over the age of 65, 9.2 million people, spent their winter fuel payment on fuel-related costs such as heating or hot water last year.

The Government’s decision to means-test the payment so that only 1.5 million are eligible has been justified partly on the basis the money was going to wealthy pensioners who did not need it.

However even people on modest incomes of £11,400 for a single person or £17,400 for couples will no longer be eligible in most cases.

Meanwhile, Rachel Reeves cut her own mother’s winter fuel payment and has said she is sticking by the decision.

The Chancellor admitted both her parents saw the payments stopped after Ms Reeves shocked the nation by announcing the winter fuel payment would be means tested.

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That cruel decision meant about nine million pensioners lost out on the lump sum of £200 for those under 80 and £300 for the over 80s paid in November and December.

Asked if means-testing the payment meant her own mum and dad no longer qualified, Ms Reeves said yes.

She told the Daily Mail: “I don’t think it’s right that my mum and dad got the winter fuel payment… She’s on a decent pension and, you know, my mum and dad use the NHS as well, which is getting £22.6billion more over the next couple of years for health spending.”

A Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson said: “We are committed to supporting pensioners – with millions set to see their state pension rise by up to £1,900 this parliament through our commitment to the Triple Lock.

“Our Pension Credit campaign has doubled applications and we are deploying over 500 extra staff to process increased claims. We continue to urge anyone who thinks they may be entitled to check now – all eligible claims can be backdated and anyone who makes a successful claim will receive their payment.”