Record numbers of expats claim winter fuel payments Mr Osborne said: "We will act to ensure that we will stop the cost of paying the Winter Fuel Payments made to those who live abroad rising in a way that no one ever intended. Paying out even more money to people from all nationalities who may have worked in this country years ago but no longer live here is not a fair use of the nation's cash. People in hot countries will no longer get it. It is, after all, a payment for winter fuel. The Treasury created its temperature test with the help of the Met Office, which analysed the average winter temperatures in the UK and across Europe over the last 29 years. The study found that the warmest region in Britain was the South West, where temperatures were an average of 5.6C (42F). British ex-pats living in seven European countries where temperatures are higher will be barred from claiming the benefit. They include Spain, France, Greece, Portugal, Malta, Gibraltar and Cyprus. According to the Treasury, the change is likely to affect 60,000 pensioners who were already claiming the payment prior to the ECJ ruling, but would prevent an estimated 115,000 from receiving the money in 2015 - many of whom became eligible as a result of the ruling. The National Federation of Occupational Pensioners warned that the policy may lead to many pensioners who live abroad being deprived of the ability to pay heating bills. Malcolm Booth, the head of the federation, said: "I have grave concerns that this move may be the first of many to end Universal Benefits which will leave some of the poorest in society even worse off. Members from all parties have made it clear that this is an area under threat after the 2015 election.