Winter Fuel Payments

If you were born on or before 26 September 1955 you could get between £100 and £300 to help you pay your heating bills. This is known as a ‘Winter Fuel Payment’.

You will get your Winter Fuel Payment automatically (you do not need to claim) if you’re eligible and either:

• get the State Pension
• get another social security benefit (not Housing Benefit, Council Tax Reduction, Child Benefit or Universal Credit)

If you do not get either of these, or if you live abroad, you may need to make a claim.

If you’ve got a Winter Fuel Payment before, you do not need to claim again unless you’ve deferred your State Pension or moved abroad.

The deadline for you to make a claim for winter 2021 to 2022 is 31 March 2022.

When you’ll be paid

Most payments are made automatically in November or December. You should get your money by 14 January 2022.

If you do not get your payment, contact the Winter Fuel Payment Centre.

Any money you get will not affect your other benefits.

Winter Fuel Payments are different to Cold Weather Payments.

You qualify for a Winter Fuel Payment if both the following apply:

• you were born on or before 26 September 1955
• you lived in the UK for at least one day during the week of 20 to 26 September 2021 - this is called the ‘qualifying week’

If you did not live in the UK during the qualifying week, you might still get the payment if both the following apply:

• you live in Switzerland or a European Economic Area (EEA) country
• you have a genuine and sufficient link to the UK - this can include having lived or worked in the UK, and having family in the UK

Read guidance to check if you can get benefits as a UK national in an EU or EEA country, or Switzerland.

You cannot get the payment if you live in Cyprus, France, Gibraltar, Greece, Malta, Portugal or Spain because the average winter temperature is higher than the warmest region of the UK.

You may still be able to get Cold Weather Payment or the Warm Home Discount Scheme, even if you do not qualify for Winter Fuel Payment.

When you will not qualify

You will not qualify if you:

• are in hospital getting free treatment for more than a year
• need permission to enter the UK and your granted leave states that you cannot claim public funds
• were in prison for the whole week from 20 to 26 September 2021
• lived in a care home for the whole time from 28 June to 26 September 2021, and got Pension Credit, Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) or income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)