State pension delay next year means people who would previously have got the benefit will miss out
People will have to wait an extra year for the winter fuel payment from 2026 (Image: Getty)
People born after a date will be set to miss out on next year’s £300 winter fuel payment because of a change in the pension age, an expert has said. Paul Lewis who appears on Radio 4’s Money Box program explained that next year people will not get the payment – but if some had been born a day earlier they would receive the money.
This year Chancellor Rachel Reeves reinstated the money for more than 9 million pensioners. For the 2025 to 2026 winter period, pensioners in England and Wales receive between £200 and £300 per household for the Winter Fuel Payment, with £300 going to households where someone is 80 or over. The payment is automatic for most and depends on your age and who you live with, and you will receive a letter explaining the amount. If your income is over £35,000, the payment is recovered through your tax
However from next year anyone born 6 April 1960 or later will not get their state pension at 66. They will have to wait up to 12 months after that birthday to qualify, costing them up to £12,849 in lost state pension. This has a knock on impact for many other benefits – including the winter fuel payment.
Mr Lewis explained on his blog this means anyone born after June 27 1960 will also miss out on the winter fuel payment for 12 months. He said: “Winter Fuel Payment is only paid to those who reach state pension age in the qualifying week in September. For winter 2026 the last date to qualify is expected to be 27 September 2026 which will include people born 27 June 1960 or earlier who will be 66 and 3 months. In winter 2027 people born 26 December 1960 or earlier aged 66 and 9 months will qualify. The same rules currently apply to the Pension Age Winter Heating Payment in Scotland.“
Mr Lewis explained that the rise in pension age next April will particularly hit one age group. The State Pension age is scheduled to increase from 66 to 67 between April 2026 and March 2028. This change, legislated by the Pensions Act 2014, affects individuals born from April 6, 1960, and later. The precise date you will reach the new State Pension age depends on your specific date of birth, with the increase phased in gradually during this two-year period.
Writing in his blog Mr Lewis explained that anyone born after this date was going to miss out: “Anyone born 6 April 1960 or later will not get their state pension at 66. They will have to wait up to 12 months after that birthday to qualify, costing them up to £12,849 in lost state pension.
“The rise in state pension age will happen in stages linked only to date of birth. It will be identical for men and women and apply throughout the UK.”
He explained that he has carried out calculations which show that people born on 6 April 1960 or later miss out by £12,849 through getting their pensions later. He explained: “The actual loss for any individual will depend on the day of the week which is their payday. That is a weekday from Monday to Friday and depends on their National Insurance number.
“The loss assumes the individual gets a full New State Pension and assumes that will be £241.05 from 6 April 2026 and £247.10, an increase of 2.5%, from 12 April 2027. The state pension is accumulated weekly so there are four or five weekly payments in a month which accounts for the difference between the minimum and maximum losses. No account is taken of the up to six days pension that is paid between the birthday and the first payday.”
The Pensions Act 2014 brought forward the increase in the State Pension age from 66 to 67 by eight years. The UK Government also tweaked the phasing of the State Pension age increase, meaning that instead of reaching State Pension age on a specific date, individuals born between 6 March 1961, and 5 April 1977, will be eligible to claim the State Pension once they turn 67.
Experts say that people need to make plans for the changes so they won’t be surprised financially. All those affected by changes to their State Pension age will receive a letter from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
Chancellor Rachel Reeves last month said a review which could see the age being increased even further is needed to ensure the system is “sustainable and affordable”. The Government review is due to report in March 2029 and Ms Reeves said it was “right” to look at the age at which people can receive the state pension as life expectancy increases.
The state pension age is currently 66, rising to 67 by 2028 and the Government is legally required to periodically review the age.
The Chancellor told reporters: “We have just commissioned a review of pensions adequacy, so whether people are saving enough for retirement, and also the state pension age. As life expectancy increases it is right to look at the state pension age to ensure that the state pension is sustainable and affordable for generations to come.
“That’s why we have asked a very experienced set of experts to look at all the evidence.”
