The Department for Work and Pensions has issued a warning for state pensioners over 66 to act in September. Pensioners earning over £35,000 will have their Winter Fuel Payment clawed back by HMRC unless they opt out of receiving it.

Under the new changes from the DWP, all pensioners with an income of under £35,000 a year will get the payment of either £200 or £300 automatically this year.

Anyone who earns over £35,000 a year will have their Winter Fuel Payment automatically recovered by HMRC through PAYE or self-assessment after they receive it.

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If you earn £30,000 a year and your partner earns £40,000, one person would keep their share of the Winter Fuel Payment but the other would pay it back.

You can check if your Winter Fuel Payment will be clawed back by HMRC on the GOV.UK website. Katherine Ford, ICAEW Technical Manager, Tax, said: “Pensioners have until Monday 15 September 2025 to contact HMRC to opt out of the Winter Fuel Payments if their total income for tax purposes is more than £35,000.

“HMRC have a useful online tool to check if income is over this amount. If a person with income over £35,000 receives the payment, it will be recovered automatically through their pay as you earn tax code for 2026/2027, unless they are in self-assessment, in which case it will be added by HMRC to their tax return for 2025/2026.“

If you do need to claim, you will be able to apply by post from September 15, or by phone from October 15. Winter Fuel Payments are worth £200 for eligible households, or £300 for eligible households with someone aged over 80.

Your eligibility will be based on your age by the end of the qualifying week. You won’t be eligible if you were in hospital getting free treatment for the whole of the qualifying week, and the year before that, or if you were in prison during the qualifying week.

You also won’t be eligible if you lived in a care home for the whole time from June 23, 2025 or earlier and you claim certain benefits including Universal Credit and Pension Credit. In Scotland, the Winter Fuel Payment has been replaced with a new Pension Age Winter Heating Payment.