This ice sculpture makes a powerful point about pensioners after winter fuel payment cut

This winter, 68-year-old Rob Trewhella has not been turning on the heating, or even his oven after losing his winter fuel payment. Instead, to save money, he’s been using an electric blanket and cooking with an air fryer.

Trewhella is one of many pensioners impacted by Labour decision to restrict eligibility for the winter fuel allowance. Being just £2.80 above the pension credit threshold, he lost between £250 and £300 this winter.

According to research from Independent Age, Trewhella is among almost a quarter (23%) of older people in England not turning their heating on over winter due to losing their winter fuel payment. 

“It doesn’t seem like an awful lot of money to some, but to others, that £250 or £300 goes a heck of a long way to helping pay your electricity bill,” Trewhella, who lives in Cornwall and retired last month, told the Big Issue.

“I’m very, very tight when it comes to electricity,” he said. “If I was still getting the winter fuel allowance, obviously I could spend a little bit more on heating and what have you, but because I’m living on a fixed income now – with some savings – I can’t afford to.”

He added that while the loss of the payments “hurts”, there are “a lot of people who are worse off than me”, explaining that there has been a rise in “the amount of pensioners who are using food banks now”. 

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In order to raise awareness of the plight pensioners like Trewhella find themselves in, Independent Age has created an ice sculpture of the 68-year-old to sit outside the Tate Modern for a day.

The sculpture of Trewhella was placed outside the prestigious art gallery on Wednesday (12 February) to draw awareness to the older people who have “even less to make ends meet this year” after the much-criticised cuts. 

Describing the cuts to the winter fuel payments as “short-sighted”, Trewhella cited research from Labour while it was in opposition in 2017 which found that scrapping the payments could contribute to “4,000 extra deaths” over winter. 

“I’ve spoken to nurses who say that the NHS will come under greater pressure because of people being admitted with Covid, flu, chest infections… so many people are falling through the cracks and not being picked up,” he said.

Trewhella explained that as part of the Tate Modern ice sculpture project, he will be sitting by the installation “all day” with the hopes that he helps to “relate” the issue to people watching. 

“That ice sculpture represents a lot of people who are literally freezing,” he said, adding that while he doesn’t often see “extremes of weather” in Cornwall, the winter “must have been absolutely horrendous” for those living further north. 

He added that he hopes the installation brings the issue of the fuel payment cuts “into the spotlight again” after he delivered “a petition of over half a million signatures to get it reinstated” to Downing Street on behalf of Independent Age in October.

“We never heard a thing from the government,” he claimed. 

Trewhella added that any older person struggling with keeping their home warm should get in touch with Independent Age, explaining that “what they’re doing is very, very important, they’re highlighting what the issues can be for the elderly”.

“So many people fall through the net in this country,” he said. “But because of this platform that I’ve got, and the fact that I am willing to speak and I am willing to tell people my story, perhaps I can help others.”

Older people in cold homes cutting back on food to save money

Morgan Vine, director of policy and influencing at Independent Age, explained that the choice between “heating and eating” which campaigners often warn about is no longer the case; older people living in freezing cold homes are already cutting back on food to try to make ends meet.  

She added that older people on low incomes have reported “resorting to heating just one room and going to bed in hats and scarves because they cannot pay their bills”. 

“Poverty in later life is a massive issue, there are currently around two million older people living in poverty, and another million are precariously on the edge,” said Vine.

“We’ve been worried about the people we support for a long time, but with the additional removal of the winter fuel payment many of them will have even less to make ends meet this year.”

We need decision makers to take notice and listen.

This ice sculpture represents Rob and all older people on a low income who are scraping by. Who tell us that they're not living, just surviving.

Learn more: https://t.co/q3XMzm6b1n pic.twitter.com/UKoIsQjRio

— Independent Age (@IndependentAge) February 12, 2025

Vine explained that, with the ice sculpture of Trewhella, Independent Age wanted to “create a powerful image that represents all the older people in financial hardship who cannot afford to heat their homes this winter”, adding that the installation could “tackle the stereotype that all older people are enjoying a comfortable retirement”.

Vine added that “much can be done to improve this situation”, urging the government to “immediately review the financial threshold for the winter fuel payment”.

“Linking it to pension credit was misguided and has seen far too many older people living on low incomes fall through the cracks,” she said. 

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