The key sum is £673 a week and if people get more than that during the qualifying period they will miss out
Pensioners need to adjust their finances by midnight tomorrow, a BBC expert said (Image: Getty)
A BBC expert has warned people they have 24 hours to sort out their finances – if they don’t want to miss out on the 2025 winter fuel payment. Earlier this year Chancellor Rachel Reeves reinstated the money – which could be up to £300 for 9 million pensioners who had it axed last year.
People can get a Winter Fuel Payment if you were born before 22 September 1959 and live in England or Wales. However, not everyone will receive it – people earning over £35,000 must pay it back – and there’s a crucial deadline tomorrow, BBC Morning Live, finance expert Laura Pomfret said.
If the person’s income is over £35,000, HMRC will take the Winter Fuel Payment back. Ms Pomfret said some pensioners may need to take action over the payment – and it’ll have to be fast before ‘qualifying week’ starts at midnight on October 15.
The winter fuel payment is this one-off tax repayment from the government to help older people with the cost of heating their home, especially during these colder months. It’s worth between £100 and £300 depending on age and household circumstances.
Ms Pomfret said: “People over 80 get a higher amount, couples both entitled to a payment that live together, get a different amount and most people won’t need to do anything. This is an automatic payment. you received in about November, December, just when you need it, paid directly into your bank account or via the usual method where you collect your benefits or your pension.
“This year to be eligible, you have to have been born before the 23rd of September 1959, which broadly anyone aged 66 and above.”
And she explained there were some changes to the 2025 payment, which could mean some people need to take urgent action. Previously, the payment was distributed to everyone above state pension age, but it now operates under means testing, meaning anyone earning more than £35,000 in taxable income cannot claim it.
Ms Pomfret explained that the £35,000 limit encompasses earnings from state or private pensions, alongside any income from employment or self-employment, plus savings interest excluding ISA accounts. She said: “Eligibility is assessed during what we call the qualifying week, which is coming up. It’s the 15th to the 21st of September.
“And essentially the government looks at what you earn during that week, and if you earn over £673 then you won’t be eligible, but if you earn less than that, well, if you get £673 or less, you will be entitled to it, and that’s just over a week away, so one frustration with some people is whatever they earn, they’re going to have to get it and have to give it back.”
Should individuals need to return the funds, Ms Pomfret clarified: “You won’t receive a bill for it. If you have to pay it back, it’ll come back through your tax code.” If you’re eligible, you’ll get a letter in October or November saying how much you’ll get. Most eligible people will be paid in November or December 2025.
When a viewer enquired about declining the winter fuel payment if unwanted, Ms Pomfret confirmed that people could simply opt out instead of facing repayment requirements. She clarified: “If you want to do this, you need to formally opt out and so you need to go within 10 days before this 15th of September deadline to gov.uk and you search winter fuel payment, opt out, and you fill in a really short form, and this is how you can opt out and not get given it, but you have to do it before midnight on the 15th of September.
“Now if you don’t want to do it online and you prefer to ring someone, you can ring the winter fuel payment centre to tell them directly, you have to do it by 6pm because they shut, they’re not going to be on the phones until midnight, I’m afraid. But that’s 0800 731 0160.”
Visit the government website to opt out of the winter fuel payment.
