Winter Fuel Payment (UK)

The Winter Fuel Payment is an annual tax-free lump sum payment from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) designed to help older people cover their heating and energy costs during the colder months.

For winter 2025 to 2026, the DWP payment you would receive is between £100 and £300, depending on your household circumstances.

In winter 2024 to 2025, the number of WFP recipients was 1.3 million. This is a decrease of 9.3 million since winter 2023 to 2024. In July of 2024, the government announced changes to the WFP policy, which came into effect for winter 2024 to 2025. This led to a dramatic decrease in the number of recipients as the criteria for allowance changed.

In June 2025, the government announced that around 9 million pensioners in England and Wales would be eligible under the updated rules. "Nine million pensioners to receive this winter”.

The scheme is in place to play a significant role in supporting older households with energy costs and forms a part of the wider government energy support framework, and acts as a type of cost-of-living payment.

In this article, we will go over everything you need to know about the Winter Fuel Payment, including the eligibility criteria, the payment amounts and dates, how to claim, as well as some additional help and resources.

Eligibility Criteria

In order to qualify for the Winter Fuel Payment, you must meet certain criteria.

You can get a Winter Fuel Payment if you were born before 22 September 1959 and live in either England or Wales. However, there are certain instances where you may not be eligible, as listed below:

• Unfortunately, you will not be eligible if you live outside of England and Wales.
• You also will not be eligible if you were in hospital getting free treatment for the whole of the week of 15 to 21 September 2025 and the year prior to that.
• You are not eligible if you need permission to enter the UK and your granted leave says that you cannot claim public funds.
• You also won’t be eligible if you were in prison for the whole of the week of 15 to 21 September 2025.

If you live in a care home, you can still get the Winter Fuel Payment. However, you will not be eligible if both of the following apply:

• You receive Universal Credit, Pension Credit, Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) or income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).
• You live in a care home for the whole time from 23 June or earlier.

If your income is over £35,000, HMRC will take your Winter Fuel Payment back by either changing your tax code for the 2026 to 2027 tax year or by adding the amount to your 2025 to 2026 Self-Assessment tax return.

If you are eligible, you will receive a letter in October or November telling you how much Winter Fuel Payment you will receive.

Payment Amounts and Dates

Below is a list of the payment amounts and dates as highlighted by the government:

If you live alone or if nobody who lives with you is eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment, you will receive either of the following:

• £200 if you were born between 22 September 1945 and 21 September 1959.
• £300 if you were born before 22 September 1945.

If you live with someone else who is eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment, you will receive:

• £100 if both you and the person you live with were born between 22 September 1945 and 21 September 1959.
• £100 if you were born between 22 September 1945 and 21 September 1959, but the person you are living with was born before 22 September 1945.
• £200 if you were born before 22 September 1945 and 21 September 1959, but the person with that you reside was born before 22 September 1945.
• £200 if you were born before 22 September 1945, but the person that you're living with was born between 22 September 1945 and 21 September 1959.
• £150 if both you and the person you live with were born before 22 September 1945.

So, with these figures in mind, households will receive a winter fuel allowance of between £200 and £300, whether this is for one person living alone or split between two people.

As an example, a single pensioner aged 82 living alone would receive £300, a couple both aged 78 would receive £200, and a couple with one aged 81 and the other aged 77 would receive £300.

However, your payment will be different if you receive any of the following benefits:

• Pension Credit
• Universal Credit
• Income-Based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
• Income-Related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• Income Support

If you and your partner both jointly claim any of the listed benefits, one of you will get payment of either:

• £200 if both of you were born between 22 September 1945 and 21 September 1959.
• £300 if one or both of you were born before 22 September 1945.

This payment will go into the bank account that your benefits are usually paid into.

If you get any of the benefits just by yourself and not part of a joint claim, you will get either:

• £200 if you were born between 22 September 1945 and 21 September 1959.
• £300 if you were born before 22 September 1945.

If you live in a care home and are eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment, you will receive either:

• £100 if you were born between 22 September 1945 and 21 September 1959.
• £150 if you were born before 22 September 1945.

Payments are made automatically and will usually appear between November and December 2025. You will receive a letter in October or early November showing how much you will get and when. If you haven’t received the payment by 28 January 2026, you are advised to contact the Winter Fuel Payments Centre.

Cold Weather Support

Alongside the Winter Fuel Payment, eligible people may also receive extra help through the Cold Weather Payment scheme. This is a one-off payment of £25 for each seven-day period of exceptionally cold weather, designed to help with increased energy bills during particularly harsh winter spells.

The Cold Weather Payment is paid automatically to those who receive certain benefits, such as Pension Credit, Universal Credit, or income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance.

To qualify, you must receive a qualifying benefit and live in an area where the temperature is recorded or forecast to be at or below freezing for seven consecutive days.

This support is especially valuable for those on a low income, as it provides additional help with fuel payments and heating bills when it’s needed most. If you are eligible, you do not need to apply—the payment will be made directly into your account, offering peace of mind during periods of cold weather.

Regional Variations

The Winter Fuel Payment is available to eligible people living in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, but there are some regional differences to be aware of. In Scotland, the Winter Fuel Payment has been replaced by the Pension Age Winter Heating Payment, which is designed to help those who have reached state pension age with their heating costs during the winter.

The Scottish Government has announced that, starting from winter 2025/26, households in Scotland that do not receive a qualifying benefit will receive a universal £100 payment to help with winter fuel bills.

In Northern Ireland, the eligibility criteria and payment amounts are the same as those in England and Wales, and the payment is intended to support older people with their heating costs during the colder months.

The Northern Ireland Executive has raised concerns about recent changes to the eligibility rules, but has confirmed that equivalent changes will be made to the Winter Fuel Payment scheme in Northern Ireland. If you have questions about your eligibility or need more information, you can contact the Winter Fuel Payment helpline on 0800 731 0160 for advice and support.

How to Claim

Automatic Payment

For most eligible pensioners, the payment is automatic. If you already receive the State Pension or another qualifying benefit and meet the age and residence rules, you ordinarily do not need to make a claim, as the payment will come to you automatically.

When You Need to Claim

In rare cases, you may need to make a claim. Some examples include if you deferred your State Pension, if you don’t receive any of the qualifying benefits, or if your details are not on record.

The deadline for new claims for winter 2025 – 2026 is 31 March 2026. You can claim your Winter Fuel Payment by post from 15 September 2025 or by phone from 13 October 2025.

How to Claim by Post

If you would prefer to make a claim via the post, you will need to fill in a Winter Fuel Payment claim form and then send it to the Winter Fuel Payment Centre.

The address you need to send it to can be found below:

Winter Fuel Payment Centre,
Mail Handling Site A,
Wolverhampton,
WV98 1LR

How to Claim Over the Phone

You can also claim over the phone by calling the Winter Fuel Payment Centre on 0800 731 0160.

You can also use Relay UK if you cannot hear or speak on the phone. Dial 18001 then 0800 731 0160.

The call centre is open Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm and is a freephone number.

How to Claim Online

Alternatively, you can get in touch with the Winter Fuel Payment Centre online here, where you can go through a number of steps to make your claim.

There is also a British Sign Language (BSL) video relay service that you can use.

What to Prepare Before You Call

Before you get in touch with the Winter Fuel Payment Centre, you will need to know your National Insurance number, your bank or building society details, and the date that you were married or entered into a civil partnership (if applicable).

Additional Help with Energy Costs

The Winter Fuel Payment is one very important part of energy cost support.

However, there are also other schemes that you may benefit from. These include the following:

• Cold Weather Payment – This is a scheme that pays out to people on certain benefits when average temperatures fall to 0 degrees Celsius or below for seven consecutive days and aims to support heating bills.
• Warm Home Discount – This is a discount on electricity bills for eligible low-income households (including some pensioners). If you are eligible for this, your electricity provider will apply the discount to your bill. The money is not paid to you.
• Fuel Vouchers – If you can’t afford to top up your prepayment meter, you may be able to get a fuel voucher. You can use this to add credit to your gas card or electricity key.

Fuel Poverty Context

Fuel poverty remains a big concern. This is when a household needs to spend at least 10% of its income on maintaining a satisfactory heating regime. The current energy price cap between 1 October and 31 December 2025 is set at £1,755 per year. In 2024, 11% of all households in England were in fuel poverty.

In 2024, research by Age UK found that 77% of people aged over 66 in the UK (equivalent to 9.2 million) spent their winter heating payment on fuel-related costs such as heating their homes, hot water, and running household appliances in the previous year.

Recent Updates and Policy Context

In June 2025, the UK government announced that, from this winter (2025), the eligibility criteria will be expanded for the Winter Fuel payment in England and Wales so that more pensioners are eligible for the support.

The new updates state that all pensioners will receive a Winter Fuel Payment, but those individuals with a taxable income above £35,000 per year, and who are not in receipt of Pension Credit or other relevant pensioner benefits, will have their Winter Fuel Payment amount claimed back via the tax system. This change will cost around £1.25 billion in England and Wales.

Payment amounts remain between £100 - £300 per person and £200 - £300 per household.

Future Outlook

Looking ahead, there are several key considerations to consider:

• Will the payment amounts (£200/£300) rise to keep pace with future energy-cost inflation? – At the moment, the Winter Fuel Payment payout does not increase annually in line with inflation. The payments will only increase at the government's discretion rather than in line with the increasing costs of energy.
• Will the £35,000 income threshold be maintained, raised or adjusted to avoid excluding vulnerable pensioners? – The new £35,000 cut-off for Winter Fuel Payments is set to be frozen for years to come. This means that the policy will bite progressively harder as inflation-linked increases in other pensions may cause people to cross over the £35,000 line.
• Will support become more tightly linked to housing quality (e.g., poorly insulated homes) rather than only age/income? – There is no evidence to suggest that the UK government is planning to change the Winter Fuel Payment to link it directly to housing quality, such as insulation levels or EPC ratings. The payment's eligibility for the foreseeable future is expected to remain primarily based on age and income/taxable earnings.