Labour have ramped up the pressure on the Tories to protect free TV licences for the over-75s.
The Conservatives are poised to break an election manifesto pledge to keep the benefit - worth £154.50 a year - despite vowing to maintain the perk.
Jeremy Corbyn tackled Theresa May over the looming cut at Prime Minister’s Questions, urging her to “take responsibility and guarantee free TV licences for the over-75s”.
The Labour chief said: “Over one million over-75s currently receive a free TV licence - a scheme established by the last Labour government.
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“This Government transferred the scheme to the BBC without guaranteeing its funding.”
Mrs May replied: “We’ve been clear what we expect the BBC to do and frankly I think the BBC is in a position to be able to do that with the income they receive.”
Currently all households with someone aged 75 or over are entitled to a free licence.
The Conservatives pledged at the 2017 election to maintain the benefit for the length of this Parliament, due to run until 2022.
But OAPs face being denied the benefit after the Tories stitched up a deal in 2015 to make the corporation responsible for funding the £745million-a-year perk from June 2020.
A 12-week BBC consultation on who should be eligible for the perk closed in February week having outlined four options.
They included scrapping free licences altogether, replacing them with a 50% concession for all over-75s, lifting the threshold for eligibility to 77 or 80, or means-testing so those who get pension credits are able to claim the benefit.
The Mirror is campaigning to save free licences - and battle backed by the country’s biggest broadcast union, Bectu.
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The union's General Secretary Philippa Childs said “To say that the BBC can afford to cover the cost of the over-75s license is in reality another catastrophic cut to the BBC to the tune of £745million.
“This amounts to 20% of the whole of BBC’s budget and is more than it costs to keep all its radio stations on air.
“This is ultimately a welfare benefit that the Government should be responsible for paying.
“It should not be used as a stick to beat a much valued public service with.”
Age UK campaigners delivered to the BBC more than 6,000 demands to save free TV licences.
More than 83,000 people have signed the charity’s petition urging for the benefit to be retained.
And in excess of 8,000 readers have backed the Mirror’s fight, completing coupons in the paper.
Asked by MPs in September to guarantee licences will remain free, director-general Lord Hall said: “I can’t give you a guarantee it will continue.
“The concession, as formulated, comes to an end in June 2020.
“We have got to decide what will replace it.”
A decision on the future of the scheme is expected over the summer.
