Andy Burnham handing state pensioners born after 1946 £100 less

Support payments for more recently retired pensioners will be lower than those given to older people under Andy Burnham's administration.

Winter Fuel Payments are handed to the majority of pensioners every year with incomes under £35,000. The payments aim to help lower-income older people keep their homes warm during the coldest months and ease worries over energy bills.

Older pensioners aged over 80 receive £300 while retirees under 80 receive the lower amount of £200. This is in recognition that older people generally spend more time in the house during winter and so need to use their heating more.

Recent changes to eligibility rules mean fewer pensioners now qualify for Winter Fuel Payments. The allowance used to be universal for all over-65s but that is no longer the case. Payments are now linked to income with a £35,000 threshold in place. That means people who have annual incomes above this amount no longer qualify. They will initially be handed the cash but will see it taken back from pension payments by HMRC over the following year.

State pensions are set to rise by at least 2.5 per cent next April under the government's commitment to the Triple Lock. The basic state pension, currently £184.90 per week, will rise to around £189, while state pensioners on the new rate are braced to get £247 a week.

The new State Pension was introduced by the coalition government by the Pensions Act 2014 and applies to people who reached State Pension age on or after 6 April 2016. The old State Pension applies to the contributory state retirement pension system for men born before 6 April 1951 and women born before 6 April 1953.

Burnham's administration has confirmed that Pat McFadden and Torsten Bell are remaining DWP and pensions ministers respectively, with Sir Stephen Timms one of the ministers for the pensions team.