Millions of state pensioners across the UK are facing a significant change to their Winter Fuel Payment this year. The government has announced that the benefit will become means-tested, leaving many wondering if they’ll still be eligible for the £300 payment.
What’s Changing?
Until now, the Winter Fuel Payment was automatically paid to all state pensioners. However, from this winter onwards, you’ll need to be claiming a qualifying benefit, such as Pension Credit, to receive the payment. This change means that the vast majority of state pensioners will no longer be eligible for the £300 payment if they don’t claim a qualifying benefit.
According to the UK Government’s website, the change is intended to “ensure that the most vulnerable pensioners receive the support they need to stay warm during the winter months.” The government argues that by targeting support at those who need it most, they can make a more significant impact on reducing fuel poverty.
How Much Will You Get?
Even if you do qualify for the Winter Fuel Payment this year, the exact amount you receive will depend on the year you were born and possibly other circumstances. For example:
- If you were born on or before 25 September 1956, you could get £300.
- If you were born between 26 September 1956 and 5 April 1957, you could get £200.
- If you were born on or after 6 April 1957, you could get £100.
It’s essential to understand how these changes will affect your payment.
When to Expect Your Payment
If you’re eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment, you should receive your payment between mid-November and Christmas. As the UK Government advises, “You should receive your payment between mid-November and Christmas. Call the Winter Fuel Payment helpline on 0800 731 0160 if you have any enquiries, or you don’t receive your payment.”
What You Can Do
If you’re concerned about your Winter Fuel Payment or would like to know more about the changes, you can:
- Contact the Winter Fuel Payment helpline on 0800 731 0160.
- Visit the UK Government’s website for more information.
- Reach out to your local Age UK branch for advice and support.
- Check your eligibility and estimated payment amount on the UK Government’s website.
Additional Support
If you’re struggling to pay your heating bills or require additional support, there are other options available. For example:
- The Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme provides funding for energy-efficient home improvements, such as loft insulation and boiler replacements.
- The Warm Home Discount scheme provides a £140 discount on energy bills for eligible low-income households.
- Local authorities may also offer additional support, such as emergency loans or grants, to help with heating costs.
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I was born in 1948 and receive pension credit buy my fuel allowance I’ve received is 200 is that correct
Pathetic. Most people on certain benefits have not paid one penny I to the system.and a lot of people fake it .it seems it’pays to be idle and fake illness.h
So, I receive £221 per week pension, qualify for no extras whatsoever-someone receiving a couple of £s less per week gets pension credit
Heating allowance
Free optical and dental care
Surely this makes them better off than myself who’s worked all my life 🤷♀️ Why are illegals being classed as more important than us & our homeless? Questions need answers here
My Husband & I are Very upset because we will not be receiving our Christmas Fuel Allowance – we relied on this money for heating & cooking etc…It is false economy on Labour when More Elderly people will take up Hospital beds & more care in their homes. Please compensate All People affected by this Loss of money. Thank you for reading this.
I know I’m not receiving my winter fuel allowance but I would like to ask the Government to donate it to Sir Keir Starmer because I realise he’s short of a bob or two. Merry Christmas K
I and my wife are just over the limit by a few £s and we can’t claim, bloody disgrace Labour government, sooner your out the better
I have paid tax since I was 15. Worked till I was 70 am now 86 but I can’t get fuel allowance. It doesn’t pay to work.
We have both worked and paid our taxes since we were 16 years old.We have tried to be sensible with our money and have lost £600 Fuel Allowance that is not fare when other people waste their money and get every thing handed on a plate.
All I can say I hope they can live with there self’s while we all suffer the bloody cold and with illness
It’s a disgrace robbing the poor to give the rich. I am an 79 year old just over the threshold been robbed of TV licence benefit and now winter fuel benefit . Yes we are getting a pittance of a rise in April but that does not compensate for the loss of these benefits. We are not all paul McCartneys or Muck Jaggers they can survive without these benefits.
My husband is 82 yrs old and receives the extra 25pence a week from the government for his age this has Never gone up with inflation I call it an insult!! to the elderly
My husband is a pensioners I’m 64 mixed age I am disabled My husband gets £221 pension I get £81 carers nothing else we don’t qualify for pension credits it costs us £50 for gas heating & £30 electricity a week before we pay bills and food My husband has only had the winter fuel benefit once and he worked from the age of 15 this government is a disgrace
I had winter payment last year but it looks like I want get this year
Iam 85 and not aloud winter payment we al should have known Labour always rob the old they have done it for years so iam sorry you fell for there lies
I am 79. I worked all my life and paid between 12 & 15% of my salary into military and police pensions. I had no breaks in employment and paid national insurance (NI) throughout. NI use to be a contribution to OAP pensions, but under the Wilson Government they admitted that all the money paid into NI had been spent on other government responsibilities. So the cupboard is empty! I now think that I would be better off if I hadn’t contributed at all. No Christmas dinner this year, wearing 5 layers of clothes and back to the post 2nd world war years one brief bath or shower per week!
I was born November 1952 so I should of received £300 but I only got £200 why is that ????
I think the age for getting £300 should be much older. Also, the limit should be per household. It still costs the same to heat a house for 1 as 2. My mother
no longer qualifies, but she has a heart condition and needs the house to be very warm.
Not to mention the £10 Christmas bonus. How much does that cost to administer? It’s an insult.
Maybe they should add up all the extras these other people get & compare it to the small extra pension mum gets. That she pays tax on, too.
The prospect of the pension being means tested appals me. Having worked all my life. Not getting a pension until 67. Maybe that is why they are looking at assisted dying should this fiasco come to being. Will it be worth living?
I live alone, I also missed out on pension credits by a few quid, as Laverne Sumpter pointed out also missing out on optical and dental care. I was more annoyed when 2 years ago we lost our on the cost of living payments about £1000 when the difference between pension and pension credits was even less.
FYI get the form for low income from your dentist HC1 and you might get help with all NHS costs worth a try.
My Husband is 82 years old I am 79, my Husband is recovering from CANCER, we have worked all our lives since 15 years of age , when our two children were young , we had nothing , as long as they got fed,
A lot of people claiming Benefits , never worked, no intention of working , but Smoke , Vape, order take always , posh phones which they pay for every month on Benefits , as for paying for TV licence also , which are full of repeats , they that claim , get reductions on that Licence also, we used to be GREAT BRITAN , we are a country of Spongers , who get rich, on the likes of pensioners, who have worked all there lives,
Talking to a woman early this year, she told me, going on Holiday with her 3 children , I thought how can you afford that on Benefits, apparently goes to GP, says one of the children is suffering depression, so needs a holiday, she goes to the Social , and they fund this holiday abroad in Spain,
WHAT IS FARE IN THE SYSTEM , would like to see the powers that be, try to cope on Pension, without benefits ,
Politicians used to be for the people of the country, not now, the FAT CATS in POWER , could not cope
I think it is a disgrace. I am so appalled with labour after voting for them. I cannot in all conscience ever vote for them again. They are a great disappointment. I am pretty sure none of the labour MPs will go cold this year.
Thank you Labour for looking after the workers of this country. You sit in your ivory towers passing laws that benefit the rich and make the poor and vulnerable stay that way. May every investment any labour politician has put their money into drops through the floor and they lose their wealth. Labour has decided not to keep to its original aims and objectives and are out for what they can get. That’s right Rayner concrete over the green belt. Build more houses because Labour does not care about this country or its people. They are all money grabbers and bullying the vulnerable. People don’t like bullies as this hideous government will find out. Sooner rather than later I hope.
Most people on pension credit are far better off than those of who are not. We are the people who miss out on pension credit by a few pounds a month who need the help with fuel costs. People at the top have no idea what it is like to live off a pension.
But the government has hit pensioners very hard with winter fuel payments and in other ways like trying to get pension credit,but I’m disabled and I still can’t get anything at all.yet according to the dates they have set out.I qualify for £300 fuel payments being born before September 1956.so I’ve not received nothing from government at all yet.
Just like MPs take from poor Labour was for working people now just like the rest I’m all right jack please bring guy fawkes the man who new what to do with Parlimiament
I’m 67 work when I was 16 fetch 6 children up me and my husband work 40 years if he was here he would say it’s a disgrace I can’t get pension credit I’m not voting again me and my husband always voted labour saying they will help use that Rayner did it she should be ashamed