DWP Winter Fuel Payment deadline fast approaching – act now to claim £300 help
Thousands of pensioners have two weeks left to do a vital benefit check and still claim a Winter Fuel Payment for this year.
Winter Fuel Payments are worth up to £300, depending on your circumstances, and used to be available to every household where someone is over state pension age – but the rules have changed so you now need to be in receipt of means-tested benefits, such as Pension Credit.
The qualifying week for when you must have been claiming one of these benefits was September 16 to September 22, 2024 – but it is still possible to backdate a Pension Credit claim. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed Pension Credit claims can be backdated by three months. This means you have until December 21 to apply and still be entitled to Winter Fuel Payments. The list of eligible benefits are:
- Income Support
- Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- Pension Credit
- Universal Credit
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To be entitled to a Winter Fuel Payment for this year, you must also have been born before September 23, 1958. You won't be entitled to a Winter Fuel Payment if you lived in a care home for the whole time from June 24 to September 22, 2024. You can still be eligible if you live in a care home on a temporary basis, which is less than 13 weeks by the end of the qualifying period.
You also won't be eligible if you've been in hospital getting free treatment for more than a year, if you needed permission to enter the UK and your granted leave says that you cannot claim public funds, or if you are in prison for the whole of the week of September 16 to September 22, 2024.
If you’re due a Winter Fuel Payment, you should have received a letter in the post in October or November. Most people are then paid in November or December. You’ll normally get the Winter Fuel Payment automatically – which means you shouldn't need to apply for it.
If you live alone
You’ll get either:
- £200 if you were born between September 23, 1944 and September 22, 1958
- £300 if you were born before September 23, 1944
If you live with someone
If you and your partner jointly claim any of the benefits, one of you will get a payment of either:
- £200 if both of you were born between September 23, 1944 and September 22, 1958
- £300 if one or both of you were born before September 23, 1944
If you live in a care home
If you’re eligible you’ll get either:
- £100 if you were born between September 23, 1944 and September 22, 1958
- £150 if you were born before September 23, 1944
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