State pensioners face a looming payment deadline this month.
Pensioners who want to opt out of the Winter Fuel Payment need to do so before 6pm on Monday (Image: Getty)
State pensioners with an income above £35,000 are being urged to make a phone call to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) before 6pm on Monday to opt out of getting this year’s Winter Fuel Payment.
The payment will be paid to everyone in England and Wales born before September 22, 1959, to help pay heating bills this winter. It is worth between £100 and £300, depending on when you were born, and will be paid automatically to those who are eligible. But pensioners who earn more than £35,000 will see the payment recovered by HMRC.
The Winter Fuel Payment will be means-tested based on a person’s individual income to those with an income less than £35,000, with around nine million pensioners in England and Wales in line to receive it this year.
Pensioners with an income above this threshold will also receive the payment but it will then be automatically clawed back in tax by HMRC via PAYE through a change in tax code, or in their Self Assessment tax return.
For those who know their income will be above the £35,000 per year threshold, there is an option to opt out of getting the payment and then having it recovered by HMRC later, but the deadline to do this is looming.
Pensioners who want to opt out need to call the DWP’s Winter Fuel Payment Centre on 0800 731 0160 before 6pm on Monday, September 15. Alternatively, you can also opt out by completing an online form on or before Monday, September 15.
Once you have chosen to opt out, you won’t receive any future Winter Fuel Payments unless you opt back in.
The DWP explains: “You can choose to opt out of getting all future Winter Fuel Payments. To opt out of getting Winter Fuel payments, you need to either:
- complete the opt out form on or before 15 September 2025
- call the helpline before 6pm on 15 September 2025
“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 31 March 2026.
“When you contact the payment centre, you’ll need to tell them your personal details like:
- your name
- your address
- your date of birth
- your National Insurance number.”
