The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed four groups of people who will not be eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment this year. The payment, worth between £100 and £300, is designed to help older people with heating bills during the colder months.
For winter 2026/27, people can qualify if they were born on or before June 27, 1960 and usually live in England, Wales or Northern Ireland. Most eligible pensioners will receive the money automatically in November or December, with letters telling households how much they will receive expected to arrive in October or November.
Who is not eligible
However, DWP guidance makes clear that reaching the qualifying age does not automatically mean someone will receive the payment. People will not be eligible if they usually live outside England, Wales or Northern Ireland, were in hospital receiving free treatment for the whole of the qualifying week (September 21 to 27, 2026) and for the year before that, need permission to enter the UK and their granted leave states they cannot claim public funds, or were in prison for the whole of the qualifying week.
Separate rules also apply to some people living in care homes. Residents can normally receive a Winter Fuel Payment, but they will not qualify if they receive Universal Credit, Pension Credit or income-related Employment and Support Allowance and have lived in the care home continuously since June 28, 2026 or earlier.
Background to the rules
The rules come after the Government widened the Winter Fuel Payment again from winter 2025/26. The Labour government had previously caused outrage across the country by means testing the benefit and limiting it to pensioners receiving Pension Credit or certain other means-tested support during winter 2024/25.
Under the current system, pensioners above State Pension age can receive the payment, but those with a total annual income of more than £35,000 will generally have the full amount recovered by HMRC through the tax system. A partner's income does not count towards the £35,000 threshold. People expecting to earn more than the threshold can also opt out rather than receiving the payment and subsequently having it reclaimed.
Different rules in Scotland
The rules are different in Scotland, where Winter Fuel Payment is not paid by the DWP. Older people there may instead qualify for the devolved Pension Age Winter Heating Payment.
