DWP announces exact date pensioners can claim Winter Fuel Payment worth £300

The exact date pensioners will be able to claim their Winter Fuel Payment worth up to £300 has been confirmed.

Winter Fuel Payments will be issued by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to people who were born before September 22, 1959. Most people will receive their Winter Fuel Payment automatically.

You will receive the Winter Fuel Payment automatically if you are claiming one of these benefits during the qualifying week, which is September 15 to 21, 2025:

• 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

But there are two groups that will need to put in a claim by post or over the phone If you do not claim any of these benefit, then you will need to claim your Winter Fuel Payment if either of the following apply:

• You’ve not had the Winter Fuel Payment before
• You’ve deferred your State Pension since your last Winter Fuel Payment

If you do need to claim, then it has now been confirmed that you will be able to apply by post from September 15, or by phone from October 15. There are new rules in place this year that mean some pensioners will have to pay back their Winter Fuel Payment.

If you earn over £35,000 a year, then your Winter Fuel Payment will be automatically recovered by HMRC through PAYE, or through self-assessment return.

You can opt out of receiving the payment if your income is over £35,000, with details to be confirmed. The income eligibility is based per person.

For example, if you have two people living together and one earns £30,000 a year and the other earns £40,000, one person would keep their share of the Winter Fuel Payment but the other would pay it back.

Winter Fuel Payments are worth £200 for eligible households, or £300 for eligible households with someone aged over 80. Your eligibility will be based on your age by the end of the qualifying week.

For the last round of Winter Fuel Payments, you weren't eligible if you were in hospital getting free treatment for more than a year, were in prison during the qualifying week, or if you were living in a care home during the qualifying week.

You also weren't eligible if you lived in a care home for more than 13 weeks, including the qualifying week. Labour says approximately nine million pensioners will receive Winter Fuel Payments this year.

In Scotland, the Winter Fuel Payment has been replaced with a new Pension Age Winter Heating Payment.