Those who are eligible will receive the payment automatically from this month.
DWP sending automatic £300 to state pensioners in November (Image: Getty)
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will start sending an automatic payment of up to £300 to eligible state pensioners in November.
The money is a Winter Fuel Payment that is awarded to pensioners in England and Wales who were born before September 22, 1959, to help pay for heating bills this winter. Around nine million pensioners are due to receive the free support from this month and the amount households will get depends on when they were born and their circumstances during the qualifying week between September 15 and 21, 2025. Pensioners born before September 22, 1959, with an income of, or below, £35,000 will get between £100 and £300, with payments due to be sent to bank accounts from this month.
Pensioners in England and Wales with an income above £35,000 per year will see their Winter Fuel Payment be automatically recovered by HMRC via PAYE or in their Self-Assessment tax return.
The DWP has confirmed that pensioners born between September 22, 195 and September 21, 1959 will get a payment of £200, while older pensioners born before September 22, 1945 will get £300.
Most eligible pensioners on any of the following 14 benefits will receive the Winter Fuel Payment automatically and do not need to do anything to claim it:
- State Pension
- Pension Credit
- Universal Credit
- Attendance Allowance
- Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
- Carer’s 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
If you don’t get any of these then you will need to submit a claim for the payment if either of the following apply:
- you’ve not got the Winter Fuel Payment before
- you’ve deferred your State Pension since your last Winter Fuel Payment
The DWP will start to send payments to eligible pensioners automatically in November or December, and the payment will be sent to the same bank account your benefits are usually paid into.
The DWP said: “Most payments are made automatically in November or December. You should get a letter telling you:
- how much you’ll get
- which bank account it will be paid into – this is usually the same account as your State Pension or other benefits
“If you do not get a letter or the money has not been paid into your account by 28 January 2026, contact the Winter Fuel Payment Centre.”
