British pensioners living overseas should be stopped from raking in millions of pounds in winter fuel payments

British pensioners living overseas should be stopped from raking in millions of pounds in winter fuel payments, campaigners are insisting.Charities and OAP groups will next week protest that more than £10million a year is being paid to those who have escaped the chilly UK and retired to the sun.Some 50,000 elderly Britons who have moved permanently abroad are claiming the yearly allowance, worth between £200 and £300, which is supposed to help with winter heating bills.Campaigners have hit out at winter fuel payments made to those living in sunny climates abroad, while elderly UK residents struggle with rising energy bills
Even those living on Spain's Costas and in Portugal, Greece and some tropical islands are benefiting from taxpayers' money.As long as they register for the allowance in Britain, they are entitled to continue claiming if they move to any of 29 European countries or their overseas territories.Under European law, benefits acquired in one member state must be paid to those who move to another.