A major change to this year’s Winter Fuel Payment means that to get the allowance that’s worth up to £300, you must also receive Pension Credit.If you don’t currently get Pension Credit, but think you could be eligible, it’s vital to check now and apply, otherwise you could miss out.
The allowance is now linked to certain means-tested benefits including Pension Credit. Pension Credit helps those over State Pension age who are living on a low income. It works by topping up income to a minimum level and can be worth more than £3,900 a year.
To keep getting your Winter Fuel Payment you must be eligible for Pension Credit or one of the other following benefits during the ‘qualifying week’ of 16 to 22 September 2024:
Universal Credit
income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
Income Support
Our Benefits calculator will show you if you’re entitled to any of these benefits
In Scotland the Winter Fuel Payment will be replaced by the Pension Age Winter Heating Payment, worth up to £300.
This will also be linked to Pension Credit and certain means-tested benefits.
It’s the Pension Credit Week of Action and Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall recommends checking if you, a loved one or a friend could be eligible for Pension Credit.
For someone aged 66 or over it could entitle them to the Winter Fuel Payment and other benefits: https://ow.ly/NRPh50Tcu6m
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to launch Pension Credit Week of Action to boost take-up of vital benefit
Joining forces with charities, broadcasters and a range of partners, the campaign will encourage pensioners to check their eligibility and apply
Up to 880,000 pensioners could be missing out on this cash boost worth on average up to £3,900 per year
Hundreds of thousands of pensioners are being urged to apply for a benefit that could be worth on average £3,900 per year as the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is launching a campaign to increase Pension Credit take-up on Monday 2 September.
With as many as 880,000 pensioners missing out, the Pension Credit Week of Action aims to spread awareness and increase claims for Pension Credit, which from this year will also automatically passport eligible pensioners to receive the Winter Fuel Payment.
Joining forces with charities, broadcasters, Local Authorities, and a range of partners, the campaign will tackle myths that may prevent people applying, for instance having a small private pension, savings or owning their own home.
Families, friends and neighbours are being encouraged to reach out to retired family members to encourage them to check their eligibility and apply. 21 December is the last possible date to make a successful backdated claim in order to receive the Winter Fuel Payment.
While around 1.4 million pensioners are already receiving Pension Credit, up to an estimated 880,000 households are eligible for the support but are not claiming it.
Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, said: “The £22 billion blackhole inherited from the previous governments means we are having to take tough decisions now to fix the foundations of our economy – including making the Winter Fuel Payments available to those most at need.
“1.3 million pensioners are already going to get help with fuel bills this year because they’re claiming pension credit – but thousands more are eligible. So, if you know someone who could get pension credit and help with their fuel bills, now is the time to help them apply for pension credit.”
Work and Pensions Secretary, Liz Kendall said: “Thousands of pensioners are missing out on Pension Credit worth on average £3,900 per year. That needs to change.
“It’s easier than ever to check if you are eligible, including with our online calculator, and if your circumstances have changed since the last time you looked – I urge you to check again.
“Friends, families and neighbours can also encourage their loved ones to apply, so that they are not missing out on this vital benefit.”
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: “The legacy of failure on energy policy we have inherited means energy prices are set to rise in autumn. We must ensure that pensioners in the greatest need get access to help with rising bills.
“We will do everything in our power to increase take up of Pension Credit to the 880,000 households who are yet to claim – opening the door to other vital support such as the Winter Fuel Payment.
“The government will also continue our mission to deliver clean power by 2030, helping to finally give families the energy security they deserve and our country the energy independence we need.”
Pensioners whose weekly income is below £218.15 for a single person or £332.95 for a couple should check to see if they are eligible for this support which is worth £3,900 a year on average, using DWP’s online calculator.
People with a severe disability, carers and those who are responsible for a child or young person who lives with them could get more. Pension Credit can also include extra amounts for certain housing costs, such as ground rent or service charges.
This work is part of a wider plan to ensure economic stability for pensioners by protecting the Triple Lock and supporting households with their energy bills through the £150 Warm Home Discount and the Warm Homes Plan – upgrading millions of homes this Parliament.
Over the next five years, more than 12 million pensioners could see their State Pension increase by over a thousand pounds as a result of the commitment to the Triple Lock.
Over the phone by calling 0800 99 1234 (Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm)
By printing out and filling in a paper application form
For more information visit the Pension Credit GOV.UK page.
The Winter Fuel Payment is worth £300 for households with someone aged 80 or over. Households with someone aged 66-79 will receive £200.
We will work with Local Authorities to bring together the administration of Pension Credit and Housing Benefit as soon as operationally possible.
People who have reached State Pension age before September 23, 2024 and are in receipt of Pension Credit, Income Support, Income based JSA, Income related ESA, Universal Credit, Child Tax Credit or Working Tax Credit, will be entitled to a Winter Fuel Payment – subject to eligibility conditions.
The regulations to means-test the Winter Fuel Payment will be laid on 22 August 2024. The qualifying week in 2024 for Winter Fuel Payments will be from 16 to 22 September.
Pensioners need to be entitled to Pension Credit for at least one day in week September 16 to 22 to be eligible for a Winter Fuel Payment for this winter.
21 December is the last date for backdating a claim for Pension Credit to 22 September, assuming the claimant met the Pension Credit entitlement conditions throughout the previous three months.
Anyone who is entitled to Pension Credit for at least one day of the Winter Fuel Payment qualifying week will have automatic entitlement to Winter Fuel Payment. There are some exceptions which are detailed on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/winter-fuel-payment/eligibility
People do not have to do anything extra to backdate their claim. If they make their application online, they will automatically be asked if they would like to backdate it. If they make their application over the phone the advisor will talk them through this.
Around 1.3 million households in England and Wales will continue to receive Winter Fuel Payments due to some other pensioner households being eligible and expected extra Pension Credit take up due to this reform.
Pension Credit recipients by region (as of February 2024):
Scottish Government left with “no choice” following funding cut
Plans to means-test Winter Fuel Payment in England and Wales will see the Scottish Government’s funding cut by up to £160 million.
Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville has confirmed the Scottish Government therefore has ‘no alternative’ but to replicate the decision in Scotland and restrict payments to pensioners who receive eligible benefits.
Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “Despite all efforts to review our financial position we have been left with no choice but to follow the UK Government and restrict payments to older people who receive relevant eligible benefits.
“This is a necessary decision when faced with such a deep cut to our funding and in the most challenging financial circumstances since devolution. The reduction we are facing amounts to as much as 90% of the cost of Scotland’s replacement benefit, the Pension Age Winter Heating Payment.
“Given the UK Government’s decision to restrict payments to those in receipt of means-tested benefits, such as Pension Credit, and the implications for the Scottish Government detailed above, I have urged the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to undertake a benefits take-up campaign for Pension Credit and to move forward with plans for a social energy tariff.
“Both of these measures will provide some further protection to energy customers in greatest need.”
Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes commented:
The UK Government’s decision to means-test the Winter Fuel Payment in England and Wales will see our funding cut by up to £160 million.
The Scottish Government has been left with no choice but to replicate the decision in Scotland.
Age Scotland: Winter Fuel Payment decision ‘brutal’ for Scottish pensioners
Age Scotland is continuing to urge the UK government to reconsider plans to scrap the winter fuel payment for pensioners who do not receive pension credit.
The charity has responded to news that, following the UK Government’s plans to means-test the Winter Fuel Payment, the Scottish Government will have no alternative but to replicate the decision in Scotland.
Age Scotland’s Policy Director, Adam Stachura, said: “It’s infuriating that huge numbers of older people will miss out on the vital Winter Fuel Payment when it is devolved to Scotland.
“We recognise the financial challenge the Scottish Government would face to make up the shortfall to keep the payment universal, but we desperately hoped there could be a more effective delivery of this payment and that it could have looked more generous than the UK Government’s new, and meagre, approach.
“At minimum, a quarter of a million pensioners in Scotland on the lowest incomes or living in fuel poverty will no longer receive this vital financial support over the winter months, while hundreds of thousands more on modest incomes are going to struggle with their energy bills even more than normal as a result.
“This brutal decision by the UK Government was made too fast, cuts too deep and its impact will be severe. It’s important that they rethink this move, as it has a huge impact on the devolution of social security and the needs of Scottish pensioners who live in some of the coldest homes in the UK.”
Visit www.age.scot/SaveWFP to sign Age Scotland’s petition to save the Winter Fuel Payment.
22 organisations sign letter to Rachel Reeves calling on the UK Government to halt Winter Fuel Payment change
Independent Age says that “sudden change puts lives at risk”
Call is backed by campaigners who have emailed their local MP for support
22 charities have sent an open letter to the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, calling on her to urgently review the change to the Winter Fuel Payment for older people.
The change announced by Ms Reeves, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on Monday mean that people aged 66 and over who don’t receive Pension Credit or a small number of other means-tested benefits, will no longer receive automatic annual payments of between £100 and £300 to help with energy costs through the winter.
Right now, Pension Credit has a low take-up of just 63%, meaning up to 1.2 million older people who are eligible will now miss out on this additional support. Many more are just above the level of eligibility for Pension Credit but still can’t afford to pay their bills.
Independent Age, one of the charities leading the call, has launched an open letter today calling on the Chancellor of the Exchequer to not make these changes now while Pension Credit is not received by everyone it should be.
The charity also says the UK Government needs to make sure that everyone receives an adequate income in later life so that those who aren’t eligible for Pension Credit but still face financial hardship have enough to live on.
In the letter, the organisations say:‘Linking the qualification of the Winter Fuel Payment to whether an older person receives Pension Credit could mean up to 1.2 million older people on low incomes miss out on even more vital financial support.
“As a result, many of them will inevitably be pushed further into poverty.
“Restricting the Winter Fuel Payment this autumn does not give the UK Government time to significantly boost Pension Credit take-up to a level that would reduce some of the side-effects of this measure. It will leave many older people on low incomes facing a cold and dangerous winter.”
Morgan Vine, Head of Policy and Influencing at Independent Ageadded: “It is not an overstatement to warn that, in its current form, this sudden change puts lives as risk. Too many people on a low income now face an uncertain winter where their budgets are even more stretched and will be forced to make dangerous and stressful decisions.
“While we understand that the UK Government must make difficult decisions, this is too much, too soon. We urge the Chancellor to not make this change now, and instead ensure every older person has an adequate income to avoid financial hardship before removing the Winter Fuel Payment. Any less risks serious consequences for older people in poverty.”
Members of the public are being invited by Independent Age to email their MP to ask for a halt to the changes. They can do this by visiting this webpage.
Pension Credit is a form of financial support which ‘tops-up’ the income of people over State Pension age who fall below an income threshold of £218.15 for a single person and £332.95 for a couple.
Many of those eligible could also unlock additional benefits worth thousands a year such as the Warm Home Discount, a free TV licence, Council Tax Reduction and free NHS dental treatment.
To apply, visit the gov.uk website on Pension Credit, or you can visit the Independent Age website at https://www.independentage.org/get-advice/money/benefits/pension-credit or call the free Independent Age helpline on 0800 319 6789 during working hours for help with understanding whether you could be eligible.
