Fears about changes to Winter Fuel Payments has sparked a surge in people looking for help across England.

The Winter Fuel Payment was available to almost everyone in the UK born before 25th September 1957, to help them cover heating costs.

But, from this winter, only those on pension credit or means-tested benefits will get the payment – leading to fears that millions of pensioners will struggle to pay their bills.

These fears have been proven by a staggering 436.56% rise in searches for terms like Winter Fuel Payment and 1384 related terms, like cold weather payments, and winter fuel pay.

In fact, before the announcement, the research by Mobile Annexe LTD. reveals the terms were only searched an average of around a quarter-of-a-million times a month, but now it’s skyrocketed to almost 1.5 million!

Location
2024 average number of searches pre-announcement
Average number of searches
post-announcement
Percentage Rise (%)
England
275,620
1,478,860
436.56

Across the UK, other areas have also seen a sharp rise, but none more so than London, which saw a 317.61% increase.

Before the announcement, the terms were only searched 42,840 times a month.

This shot up to 178,850 after the announcement was made.