{"id":127508,"date":"2026-10-23T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-23T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/?p=127508"},"modified":"2026-10-23T13:54:58","modified_gmt":"2026-10-23T12:54:58","slug":"pensioners-not-receive-winter-fuel-payment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/pensioners-not-receive-winter-fuel-payment\/","title":{"rendered":"DWP Names Five Groups of Pensioners Who Will Not Receive Winter Fuel Payment This Year"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)<\/strong> has confirmed five groups of pensioners who will not qualify for the Winter Fuel Payment in 2026, leaving some older people unable to receive up to \u00a3300 in government support toward their winter heating bills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Five Groups of Pensioners Who Will Not Qualify<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The annual Winter Fuel Payment<\/strong> provides between \u00a3100 and \u00a3300<\/strong> to help people over State Pension age cover heating costs during colder months. Following a government policy reversal in 2025, payments were restored more widely, although an annual income threshold of \u00a335,000 determines who can keep the money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Chronicle Live<\/a>, the DWP has outlined five circumstances that can prevent pensioners from receiving or retaining the payment this winter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first concerns residency. People living outside England, Wales, or Northern Ireland are not eligible under the DWP scheme<\/a><\/strong>. Scotland operates a separate winter heating payment system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second exclusion applies to pensioners who received free hospital treatment throughout the qualifying week of September 21 to September 27, 2026, and for the preceding year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Immigration status can also affect eligibility. Individuals who require permission to enter the United Kingdom and whose immigration conditions prohibit access to public funds<\/strong> cannot receive the payment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fourth group includes people who were in prison throughout the qualifying week<\/strong>, from September 21 to September 27, 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, pensioners whose annual income exceeds \u00a335,000<\/strong> cannot retain the payment. Unlike the other exclusions, this restriction is enforced through HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), which recovers the money after it has been paid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Winter
\nCredit: Shutterstock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What Happens if a Pensioner’s Income Exceeds \u00a335,000?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The income threshold is one of the main conditions affecting Winter Fuel Payment eligibility in 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pensioners earning \u00a335,000 or less<\/strong> annually can keep their payment if they meet the other requirements. Those earning more may still receive the money automatically, but HMRC will subsequently recover it through the tax system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This means that receiving a Winter Fuel Payment does not necessarily indicate that someone is entitled to retain it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The payment itself remains tax-free, with the recovery mechanism applying specifically to recipients whose income exceeds the government threshold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Care Home Residents Face Separate Eligibility Rules<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Pensioners living in care homes may still qualify for the Winter Fuel Payment, although additional restrictions apply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Residents will not qualify if they receive certain means-tested benefits and have lived in a care home continuously since June 29, 2026, or earlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The relevant benefits include Universal Credit, Pension Credit, Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), and income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both conditions must apply for the exclusion to take effect. Living in a care home alone does not automatically prevent someone from receiving winter heating assistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which Pensioners Will Receive the Payment Automatically?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Most eligible pensioners receive their Winter Fuel Payment without submitting a separate application.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Automatic payments generally apply to people receiving the State Pension, Pension Credit, Universal Credit, Attendance Allowance, Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Carer’s Allowance, or Disability Living Allowance (DLA).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other qualifying benefits include Income Support, income-related ESA, income-based JSA, awards under the War Pensions Scheme, Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit, Incapacity Benefit, and Industrial Death Benefit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Receiving one of these benefits can remove the need to make a claim, although pensioners must still satisfy the applicable eligibility conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2026 qualifying week runs from September 21 to September 27, and HMRC will recover Winter Fuel Payments from pensioners whose annual income exceeds \u00a335,000.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The DWP has confirmed five groups of pensioners who will not qualify for the Winter Fuel Payment in 2026, with income limits and other eligibility rules affecting who can receive up to \u00a3300 in heating support this winter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":113042,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-127508","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127508","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127508"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127508\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":127510,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127508\/revisions\/127510"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/113042"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127508"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127508"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127508"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}