The Just Missing Out scheme, designed to support Kent pensioners in need of help with significantly rising living costs through the winter, has opened for applications.
Pension-aged residents on lower incomes who are not eligible for Pension Credit or the government’s Winter Fuel Payment can apply and, if successful, a household will receive vouchers to the value of £200 which can be redeemed for food, energy, or both, depending on an individual’s most pressing need.
In October this year, KCC’s Leader Roger Gough announced that £1m of the Household Support Fund will be used to support Kent pensioners this winter, after the government cut the Winter Fuel Payment to around 10 million older people in the UK, with only those eligible for Pension Credit continuing to get support with winter fuel costs.
Cllr Gough said: “We think it is really important to ensure that there is support for those people who are going to be really affected by what’s happened with the Winter Fuel Allowance and who are not eligible for Pension Credit.
“There are an awful lot of older people in Kent who don’t qualify for pension credit but are just at that level above it. People for whom this winter could mean real hardship. This support is aimed at those who will experience real pressure throughout the winter and may have to make difficult decisions about energy or food.
“So the focus will very much be ensuring those older people can be in a much better situation than would otherwise have been the case.”
The support scheme offers a public and professional referral pathway, allowing Kent residents to apply themselves, or a professional, friend or family member to apply on their behalf.
For more information and to apply, visit: Pensioner Just Missing Out scheme – Kent County Council
The new scheme comes under the umbrella of KCC’s Financial Hardship Programme.
Developed out of the Helping Hands Scheme, which was launched in 2021, the Financial Hardship Programme has meant the distribution of 48,000 food and fuel vouchers to help with household bills, 5,000 laptops being supplied to people without access to technology, 150 children are now in their own beds, rather than sharing with siblings or sleeping on sofas, and more than 2,600 people are not dealing with their debt on their own.
The support started when KCC received £10 million of Covid Emergency Grant to urgently respond to the impact of the pandemic and address the challenges presented by cost-of-living pressures.
