More than 12,000 elderly people in Oxfordshire could face difficulties accessing their pensions if the Government scraps a Post Office payment method, new figures revealed.

The Post Office Card Account (POCA) was introduced in 2003 to increase security of payment of pensions and other benefits.

The Government wants to axe the scheme in 2010 and expects people will have to open bank accounts, instead of going to post offices to pick up their payments.

Ministers have argued that many pensioners already have bank accounts.

But figures published by the Department of Work and Pensions have revealed that 12,400 pensioners in the county use POCA accounts to get their weekly payments. According to the Office for National Statistics, there are 106,200 people in Oxfordshire of pension age or older.

Campaigners opposing withdrawal of the scheme said the figures showed how reliant pensioners were on withdrawing their money from Post Offices.

Sheena Palmer, president of the Oxford and Bicester National Federation of Sub-Postmasters, is one of those leading the campaign in Oxfordshire.

Mrs Palmer, postmistress at Watlington Post Office, said: "These figures show how many people rely on their Post Office Card Accounts.

"It was only three years ago that this scheme was brought in and now pensioners are facing further uncertainty when all they want to do is carry on as they always have, going to their post office for their pensions.

"Some can't easily get to banks and don't want to have to open a bank account at their stage in life."

Post offices across the county are displaying petitions for people to sign and Mrs Palmer encouraged pensioners to add their names.

Age Concern, which campaigns on behalf of older people, said the card was very popular among pensioners and it was opposing payment changes.

More than 280 MPs, including Banbury Conservative MP Tony Baldry and Wantage Conservative MP Ed Vaizey, have signed a motion against abolition of the account.

Andrew Smith, Labour MP for Oxford East, who was the minister responsible for bringing in the card, told the Oxford Mail the Government was still talking to post office managers about what would replace the accounts.

He said: "It is really important there is a secure and convenient way for people, and pensioners in particular, to get their money at post offices. There is still time for people to put their concerns to ministers."

He said an increasing number of banks were en- abling people to withdraw money at post offices, but Mrs Palmer said not enough were signed up to make it convenient for pensioners.

Twenty-five banks allow withdrawal from accounts at post offices, but some of the UK's biggest banks, including HSBC, Natwest and the Royal Bank of Scotland Group, have refused to do so.