A Guide to the Winter Fuel Payment, a lump sum for heating costs for the elderly and pensioners to help them keep warm in winter.
see also:
updated April 2023
Introduction
You could get between £200 and £600 tax-free to help pay your heating bills if you were born on or before 26 September 1956.
This is known as a ‘Winter Fuel Payment’.
Most payments are made automatically in November or December. You should get your money by January of the following year.
You usually get a Winter Fuel Payment automatically if you get the State Pension or another social security benefit (not Housing Benefit, Council Tax Reduction, Child Benefit or Universal Credit).
If you qualify but don’t get paid automatically, you’ll need to make a claim.
Most people get the Winter Fuel Payment automatically if they’re eligible.
You do not need to claim if you get any of the following:
- State Pension
- Pension Credit
- Attendance Allowance
- Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
- Carers Allowance
- Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
- Income Support
- income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
- awards from the War Pensions Scheme
- Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
- Incapacity Benefit
- Industrial Death Benefit
If you do not get any of these, you need to claim if either of the following apply:
- you’ve not got the Winter Fuel Payment before
- you’ve deferred your State Pension since your last Winter Fuel Payment
Your form must be received by 31 March. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/winter-fuel-payment-claim-form
You will get a letter telling you how much Winter Fuel Payment you will receive and when this will be paid.
This payment is particularly helpful for low income disabled people. or older people and pensioners.
The government pay it and it is tax free for those who fit the eligibility criteria given below.
The deadline for you to make a claim for winter 2022 to 2023, for example, is 31 March 2023.
When you’ll be paid
Most payments are made automatically in November or December. You should get your money by January of the following year.
You’ll get a letter telling you how much you will get and an estimated payment date.
If you do not get your payment, contact the Winter Fuel Payment Centre.
Any money you get will not affect your other benefits.
How much is paid:
How much you get depends on your circumstances during the qualifying week.
If you live alone or no one you live with is eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment
You’ll get either:
- £500 if you were born between 26 September 1942 and 25 September 1956
- £600 if you were born before 26 September 1942
If you live with someone else who’s eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment
Your payment may be different if you get one of the following benefits:
- Pension Credit
- income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
- income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- Income Support
If you do not get any of the benefits
You’ll get a payment of either:
- £250 if you and the person you live with were both born between 26 September 1942 and 25 September 1956
- £250 if you were born between 26 September 1942 and 25 September 1956 but the person you live with was born before 26 September 1942
- £350 if you were born before 26 September 1942 but the person you live with was born between 26 September 1942 and 25 September 1956
- £300 if you and the person you live with were both born before 26 September 1942
If you and your partner jointly claim any of the benefits
One of you will get a payment of either:
- £500 if both of you were born between 26 September 1942 and 25 September 1956
- £600 if one or both of you were born before 26 September 1942
You’ll be paid into the bank account your benefits are usually paid into.
If you get any of the benefits (not as part of a joint claim)
You’ll get a payment of either:
- £500 if you were born between 26 September 1942 and 25 September 1956
- £600 if you were born before 26 September 1942
If you live in a care home
If you’re eligible you’ll get either:
- £250 if you were born between 26 September 1942 and 25 September 1956
- £300 if you were born before 26 September 1942
If you get certain benefits
Your payment may be different if you or your partner get one of the following benefits:
- Pension Credit
- income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
- income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- Income Support
Are you eligible?:
You qualify for a Winter Fuel Payment if both the following apply:
- you were born on or before 26 September 1956
- you lived in the UK for at least one day during the week of 19 to 25 September 2022 – this is called the ‘qualifying week’
If you did not live in the UK during the qualifying week, you might still get the payment if both the following apply:
- you live in Switzerland or a European Economic Area (EEA) country
- you have a genuine and sufficient link to the UK – this can include having lived or worked in the UK, and having family in the UK
Read guidance to check if you can get benefits as a UK national in an EU or EEA country, or Switzerland.
You can’t get the payment if you live in Cyprus, France, Gibraltar, Greece, Malta, Portugal or Spain because the average winter temperature is higher than the warmest region of the UK.
When you won’t qualify
You will not qualify if you:
-
- have been in hospital getting free treatment for more than a year
- need permission to enter the UK and your granted leave says that you cannot claim public funds
- were in prison for the whole of the week of 19 to 25 September 2022
Change of circumstance
Report any change of circumstance as these can affect how much you get. For example, if the qualifying person stops getting a benefit, moves out, dies or goes into care.
Contact the office paying your benefits – their details are on any letters they sent you.
Most Winter Fuel Payments are paid automatically. Write to the office that pays your Winter Fuel Payment if you want to cancel it.
How to claim a Winter Fuel Payment.
You usually do not need to claim Winter Fuel Payment – you’ll get it automatically if you’re eligible.
If you have not got a Winter Fuel Payment before, you only need to claim if any of the following apply:
- you do not get benefits or a State Pension
- you only get Housing Benefit, Council Tax Reduction, Child Benefit or Universal Credit
- you get benefits or a State Pension but live in Switzerland or an EEA country
If you have got a Winter Fuel Payment before, you only need to claim if since your last payment you have either:
- deferred your State Pension
- moved to Switzerland or an EEA country
If you’ve claimed before
You should get your Winter Fuel Payment automatically from the organisation that pays your benefits. Contact them if you have any questions or there’s a change in your circumstances. You can find their details on any letters they’ve sent you.
Claiming for the first time by phone
Call the Winter Fuel Payment Centre to claim by phone.
Winter Fuel Payment Centre
Winter Fuel Payment Centre
Email enquiry form
Telephone: 0800 731 0160
Telephone from outside the UK: +44 (0)191 218 7777
Textphone: 0800 731 0176
Textphone from outside the UK: +44 (0)191 218 7280
Relay UK (if you cannot hear or speak on the phone): 18001 then 0800 731 0160
Video relay service for British Sign Language (BSL) users – check you can use this service
New claims or payment enquiries: Monday to Friday, 9:30am to 3:30pm
Report a change of circumstances or eligibility enquiries: Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm
Find out about call charges
What to prepare before you call
Before you call, you will need to know:
- your National Insurance number
- your bank or building society details
- the date you were married or entered into a civil partnership (if appropriate)
Payments can’t be made into a National Savings and Investments (NS&I) account unless you already get other benefits paid into the account.
You’ll also need to say whether during the qualifying week you’ll be:
- in hospital getting free in-patient treatment
- in a residential care home or Ilford Park Resettlement Home
- in prison
Claim by post
Fill in a Winter Fuel Payment claim form for UK residents and send it to the Winter Fuel Payment Centre.
Winter Fuel Payment Centre
Mail Handling Site A
Wolverhampton
WV98 1LR
Send your claim to the following address if you’re in another EEA country or Switzerland.
Winter Fuel Payment Centre
Mail Handling Site A
Wolverhampton
WV98 1ZU
UK
If you disagree with a decision
You can challenge a decision about your claim. This is called asking for mandatory reconsideration.
updated April 2023