The Winter Fuel Payment has been going out to older Britons providing between £250 and £600 to help towards their heating bills.
The funds should be paid automatically to individuals born before September 25, 1957, with the amount a person receives depending on their situation.
Payments are due to go out automatically in November and December so people may want to check their bank accounts to see if the money has arrived.
If a person is eligible for the payment and they have not received it yet, they may want to wait a while longer to see if it arrives.
Government guidance is that of a person does not receive a letter or they do not get the funds by January 26, 2024, they should contact the Winter Fuel Payment Centre.
This year’s payment includes an extra pensioner cost of living payment of between £150 and £300 similar to last winter’s scheme.
Some people will need to make a claim to receive the funds. Claims have to be filed by March 31, 2024. Below are the full details about how much a person will get depending on their situation and who needs to claim.
Who needs to put in a claim for the Winter Fuel Payment?
To be eligible, a person must have been born before September 25, 1957 and lived in the UK for at least one day during the week of September 18 to 24, 2023.
If a person does not meet these criteria or if they live abroad, they may need to put in a claim.
If an individual has had the payment before, they will need to file a claim unless they have deferred their state pension or moved abroad.
People who claim these means of support do not need to claim:
- 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.
Winter Fuel Payments if a person lives abroad
A person only needs to claim the Winter Fuel Payment if they have not received it since they moved abroad. After this, they will get the payment automatically.
For those who do not live in the UK, they are only eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment if:
- They moved to an eligible country before January 1, 2021
- They were born before September 25, 1957
- They have a sufficient link to the UK – this can include having lived or worked in the UK, and having family in the UK.
Eligible countries
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- Germany
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Poland
- Romania
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Sweden
- Switzerland.
How much will the Winter Fuel Payment be?
The one-off payment is tax-free and will not affect a person’s other benefit payments.
For those who live alone or no one they live with is eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment
They will get either:
- £500 if they were born between September 25, 1943 and September 24, 1957
- £600 if they were born before September 25, 1943.
If a person lives with someone else who’s eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment
The payment may be different if they get one of the following benefits:
- Pension Credit
- Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- Income Support
If they do not get any of the benefits listed above
They will get a payment of either:
- £250 if they and the person they live with were both born between September 25, 1943 and September 24, 1957
- £250 if they were born between September 25, 1943 and September 24, 1957 but the person they live with was born before September 25, 1943
- £350 if they were born before September 25, 1943 but the person they live with was born between September 25, 1943 and September 24, 1957
- £300 if they and the person they live with were both born before September 25, 1943.
If a person and their partner jointly claim any of the benefits listed above
One of them will get a payment of either:
- £500 if both of them were born between September 25, 1943 and September 24, 1957
- £600 if one or both of them were born before September 25, 1943.
If a person gets get any of the benefits listed above (not as part of a joint claim)
they will get a payment of either:
- £500 if they were born between September 25, 1943 and September 24, 1957
- £600 if they were born before September 25, 1943.
If a person lives in a care home
If they are eligible they will get either:
- £250 if they were born between September 25, 1943 and September 24, 1957
- £300 if they were born before September 25, 1943.
A person who lives in a care home will not be eligible if both of the following apply:
- They get Pension Credit, Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) or Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- They lived in a care home for the whole time from June 26 June to September 24, 2023.
Who is not eligible for Winter Fuel Payments 2023/24?
A person will not be eligible if they:
- Have been in hospital getting free treatment for more than a year
- Need permission to enter the UK and their granted leave says that they cannot claim public funds
- Were in prison for the whole of the week of 18 to 24 September 2023.
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