PENSIONERS across the North West are being urged to check if they could be eligible for Pension Credit to secure the Winter Fuel Payment, worth up to £300 per household.

The benefit can also passport pensioners to additional help with housing costs, council tax, and heating bills.

The move by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) follows Chancellor Rachel Reeves announcing that the Winter Fuel Payment will no longer be universal for pensioners but will be means-tested and delivered to those on Pension Credit to target those in most need.

Around 1.3million households in England and Wales will continue to receive Winter Fuel Payments.

These include 175,179 in the North West - the highest number of regional Pension Credit claimants outside London.

The Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall have written to local authorities and will join forces with them, older peoples’ charities, and other groups this September for its annual Pension Credit Week of Action.

The awareness drive aims to identify households not claiming the benefit, and encourage pensioners to apply by December 21 - the last date for making a backdated claim in order to receive the Winter Fuel Payment.

While 1.3m pensioners are already receiving Pension Credit there are up to an estimated 880,000 households eligible who are yet to claim.

Ms Kendall said: “The £22billion black hole in the public finances we have inherited has required us to take difficult decisions, but I am determined to ensure low-income pensioners are supported.

“That’s why I urge any pensioner, or their loved ones, to check if they could get Pension Credit."

Ms Reeves said: “We want pensioners to get the support they are entitled to. That’s why I urge all pensioners to check whether they are eligible for Pension Credit.”

During the Week of Action, the DWP and its partners will be tackling some of the myths that may stop people applying by showing how having savings, a private pension or owning a home are not necessarily barriers to receiving Pension Credit.

Pensioners whose weekly income is below £218.15 for a single person or £332.95 for a couple should check if they could be eligible for the benefit worth on average £3,900 a year.