The Sunday Telegraph has my story today:

Britain’s poorest pensioners will lose out on £100m next year because of Government plans to reduce the amount of backdated pension credit they can claim.

An answer to a Parliamentary question last week revealed that the proposal to allow pensioners’ to reclaim just three month’s worth of credit rather than 12 months will save the Government £100m in 2009, and nearly the same amount again the following year.

Additional figures also show that similar proposals to change the backdating of housing and council tax benefit will save the Government £35m next year and £70m in 2010…

Lynne Featherstone, Liberal Democrat MP for Hornsey and Wood Green, said that the plans were “the worst kind of Labour penny-pinching”.

Her question in Parliament revealed that the Government will make substantial savings by 2010 by removing the ability for pensioners to backdate their pension credit claims. These savings include £55m this year, £100m next year, and a further £96m in 2010.

Featherstone said: “These figures show the Treasury is in for a real windfall at the expense of some of the poorest people in the country. Pensioners on fixed incomes are bearing the brunt of bumper rises in fuel and shopping bills. It is therefore outrageous that the Government has targeted them to claw back millions of pounds.”

She added that the practice of backdating pension credit claims for a year made a “fair and proper” allowance for the fact that pensioners often found it difficult to make timely claims for their entitlements.

“Scrapping this sound principle completely undermines the aim of pension credits in tackling poverty for the oldest in our society,” she said.

Pensioners now have until October 6 to put in a claim for backdated pension credit. After this time, they will only receive three months worth of backdated payments for their credit and the associated council tax benefit and housing benefit

You can read the full story here, but regardless – note that October 6 deadline – that’s an important date to remember if you are eligible for these benefits – or to remind other people about if you are not.

Update: The Mail on Sunday has the story too.