Winter fuel payments

If you were born before 22 September 1959 you could get between £100 and £300 to help you pay your heating bills for winter 2025 to 2026. This is known as a ‘Winter Fuel Payment’.

Most people get the Winter Fuel Payment automatically if they’re eligible.

If your income is over £35,000, HMRC will take your Winter Fuel Payment back. You can check if your income is over the threshold and how HMRC will take it back.

You can opt out of getting the Winter Fuel Payment if you do not want to receive it.

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.

You don’t need to claim if you get any of the following:

• 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, you need to claim 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

How to claim

You can claim Winter Fuel Payment by:

• post – from 15 September 2025
• phone – from 13 October 2025

The deadline for you to make a claim for winter 2025 to 2026 is 31 March 2026.

Further information is available at Winter Fuel Payment: Overview – GOV.UK