Around nine million pensioners are in line to get a cash payment from the DWP this winter.
The Winter Fuel Payment will be restored to the vast majority of pensioners this winter (Image: Getty)
State pensioner couples under the age of 80 and with an income of, or below, £35,000 per year will receive a £100 payment from the DWP this winter.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves last week announced a change to the eligibility criteria for the winter fuel payment meaning it will be restored to the vast majority of pensioners this winter. Millions of pensioners were denied the payment last winter after the Labour Party limited it to those claiming Pension Credit or other income-related benefits to try and plug a £22 billion “black hole” in the public finances.
The move meant the number of pensioners eligible for the payment plummeted from around 11.4 million to just 1.5 million. But thanks to a government U-turn, around nine million pensioners in England and Wales are set to get the payment this winter, providing the new eligibility criteria is met.
Eligibility is based on a person’s age and place of residence during the qualifying week, which will be the third full week of September, from Monday, September 15 to Sunday, September 21 2025.
This means a person must have reached State Pension age – which is currently age 66 for men and women – by the end of the qualifying week (so by September 21, 2025) to be eligible.
The Winter Fuel Payment is worth £200 per household, or £300 per household where there is someone over the age of 80. But in cases where pensioners live together and aren’t receiving an income-related benefit, such as Pension Credit, the DWP will issue a shared payment.
This means that a pensioner couple both aged under 80 and not on Pension Credit will each get a payment of £100 each from the DWP this winter.
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.
HM Treasury said: “From 2025/26 Winter Fuel Payments will be payable in England and Wales at £200 for households including someone between State Pension age and 79, and £300 for households including someone aged 80 or over.
“Where the household is not getting an income related benefit, such as Pension Credit, a shared payment will be made – e.g. a couple, each under 80, not on Pension Credit will receive a payment of £100 each.
“Winter Fuel Payments are transferred in Northern Ireland. The policy area is devolved to Scotland. The Scottish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive will both receive a mechanical uplift in their funding as a result of this change in England and Wales.”
