Government rules will cause huge queues for 2m pensioners on Christmas Eve

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The Department for Work and Pensions has rejected requests for payments to be authorised on Friday, December 21 to allow pensioners to shop at the weekend and cut post offices queues on Christmas Eve morning.

Instead, post offices will have between 9am and 12.30pm on Monday, December 24 to distribute the weekly pension before reopening on Thursday, December 27.

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The government has refused to help nearly two million elderly people pick up their pensions at Christmas (picture posed by model)

Jenny Clarke, who has run the sub post office at Stoke, Plymouth, for 34 years, said yesterday: "It is going to be chaotic.

"These are often the most vulnerable members of society – the elderly and disabled. They don't have bank accounts and depend on the money they receive from their Post Office Card Accounts."

Although 13million pensioners have the cash paid into bank accounts, three million pick up the money themselves. Complex payments make it hard to assess the impact of the Christmas Eve payout but it is estimated 1.8million will be affected.

Neil Duncan-Jordan of the National Pensioners Convention said: "Christmas Eve is going to be very difficult for many elderly people. We should be opening more post offices, not closing branches down."

The money will be available to Northern Ireland pensioners from December 21 but the DWP will not budge elsewhere.

"Payments are always on the last bank working day before the holiday," a spokesman said.