Millions of people in England and Wales will receive a Winter Fuel Payment letter in the coming weeks, confirming the amount of financial support they will get towards heating bills for winter 2026-2027. The payment ranges from £100 to £300, and most eligible claimants receive it automatically.
Who qualifies for the payment
According to the Government website, anyone born on or before June 27, 1960 could receive between £100 and £300 to help pay heating bills for winter 2026 to 2027. Those eligible will get a letter in October or November stating how much they will receive, with payments made in the final two months of the year.
Everyone over State Pension age in England and Wales with an annual income of £35,000 or below will benefit from a Winter Fuel Payment this winter.
Who will not receive the support
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has set out circumstances in which people will not receive the payment. These include people who usually live outside England, Wales or Northern Ireland, and those who may have been visiting those countries during the qualifying week of September 21-27 but usually live elsewhere.
Also excluded are people receiving free hospital treatment during the whole of that week and the corresponding week the year before, those who need permission to enter the UK, those whose granted leave says they cannot claim public funds, and anyone in prison during all of the qualifying week.
People living in a care home can be eligible for Winter Fuel Payment, but not if they receive Universal Credit, Pension Credit, Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance or income-related Employment and Support Allowance and have lived in a care home for the whole time from June 29, 2026 or earlier.
How the payment is calculated and paid
The amount received is based on when people were born and their circumstances during the qualifying week of September 21-27, 2026. Around nine million people in England and Wales will receive the payment.
Pensioners will automatically receive the payment this winter. Those with incomes above the threshold will have the payment recovered by HMRC, but no one needs to register with HMRC or take any further action. Payments will be made to the main claimant receiving a means-tested benefit such as Pension Credit, or a shared payment to a couple if no means-tested benefit is in payment.
Claims do not need to be made if the person receives State Pension, Pension Credit, Universal Credit, Attendance Allowance, Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Carer’s Allowance, Disability Living Allowance (DLA), income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), awards from the War Pensions Scheme, Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit, Incapacity Benefit or Industrial Death Benefit.
Those who do not receive any of these benefits will need to claim if they have not received the Winter Fuel Payment before, or if they have deferred their State Pension since their last Winter Fuel Payment.
