Winter Fuel Payments will be sent out in November and December
Winter Fuel Payments will be sent out in November and December(Image: PA)
You’ll get a letter in October or November telling you how much Winter Fuel Payment you’ll get, if you’re eligible. The Winter Fuel Payment is an annual payment to help you with heating costs during the colder months. You must have reached State Pension age to qualify for it.
If you were born before September 22 1959, you could get between £100 and £300 to help you pay your heating bills for winter 2025 to 2026. Most people get the Winter Fuel Payment automatically if they’re eligible. However, If your income is over £35,000, HMRC will take your Winter Fuel Payment back.
The amount you get is based on when you were born and your circumstances between September 15 and 21 2025, this is the qualifying week. A person needs to have reached State Pension age by the end of the qualifying week to be eligible. Any money you get will not affect your other benefits.
If your income is over £35,000, the Winter Fuel Payment will be taken back by HMRC as they will change your tax code for the 2026 to 2027 tax year and add the amount to your 2025 to 2026 Self Assessment tax return.
Official government guidance states: “You will need to wait for HMRC to take back the payment, you cannot pay it sooner. HMRC will automatically collect the payment by changing your tax code for the 2026 to 2027 tax year. For a typical payment of £200, the deduction will be approximately £17 per month.”
The Gov.uk website has a checker tool enabling people to determine whether their income surpasses the threshold and how HMRC might recover it depending on their circumstances.
Whilst pensioners can opt out of Winter Fuel Payments, the cut-off date for doing so for the 2025/2026 winter period has now passed. From April 2026, pensioners will have the option to opt out of receiving the Winter Fuel Payment for the 2026 to 2027 period onwards.
You can opt in again by contacting the Winter Fuel Payment Centre. To get a payment for winter 2025 to 2026 you need to contact them before March 31 2026.
You should contact the Winter Fuel Payment Centre if you’re eligible for a Winter Fuel Payment and you need to report a change of circumstances or need to change your address or personal details.
Anyone eligible is urged to report any change of circumstances as soon as possible for example, if you move house or move into a care home. These can affect how much Winter Fuel Payment you get.
When you contact the payment centre, you’ll need to tell them your personal details like your name, your address, your date of birth and your National Insurance number. You can either call the helpline or send a letter by post.
You may have to repay the money if you do not report a change in circumstances straight away, give wrong information or are overpaid by mistake.
Pensioners do not need to take action as they will automatically receive the payment this winter, for those who have incomes above the threshold, it will be recovered by HMRC. No one will need to register with HMRC for this or take any further action.
Payments will be made to the main claimant who is receiving a means-tested benefit such as Pension Credit. If there is no means-tested benefit in payment, a shared payment will be made to a couple.
You will automatically qualify for payments, meaning there’s no need to claim if you are of State Pension age and receive any of the following:
State PensionPension CreditUniversal CreditAttendance AllowancePersonal Independence Payment (PIP)Carer’s AllowanceDisability Living Allowance (DLA)Income Supportincome-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)awards from the War Pensions SchemeIndustrial Injuries Disablement BenefitIncapacity BenefitIndustrial Death Benefit
If you have not received any of these, you’ll need to make a claim if either of the following circumstances apply:
You’ve never received the Winter Fuel Payment beforeYou’ve deferred your State Pension since your last Winter Fuel Payment