The Government's plans to radically shake-up the welfare system could see benefits for the elderly, including winter fuel allowances, cut drastically as Britain claws back from the recession.
Britain's pensioners are missing out on an estimated £5.4 billion in unclaimed benefits each year, despite 1.8 million of them living in poverty, figures released today show.
Chancellor George Osborne defended the Budget as "tough but fair" today as he accused the previous Labour government of leaving the economy in a "massive mess".
Families who earn £25,000 a year could see a fall in the benefits they receive from April 2012, according to figures buried deep in yesterday's 112-page official Budget document.