The Winter Fuel Payment is worth up to £300 and is paid by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to people over state pension age
An important deadline for anyone who hasn’t yet received their Winter Fuel Payment is fast approaching.
The Winter Fuel Payment is worth up to £300 and is paid by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to people over state pension age. If you earn over £35,000 a year, then you will need to repay it through the tax system.
The majority of people should received their Winter Fuel Payment in November or December – but if you still haven’t got it by January 28, 2026, then you can contact the Winter Fuel Payment Centre from this date.
You can either call the Winter Fuel Payment Centre helpline or send a letter by post. The number is 0800 731 0160, or 18001 then 0800 731 0160 for Relay UK. The address is: Winter Fuel Payment Centre, Mail Handling Site A, Wolverhampton, WV98 1LR.
On GOV.UK it states: “Most payments are made automatically in November or December. You should get a letter telling you: how much you’ll get; which bank account it will be paid into – this is usually the same account as your state pension or other benefits.
“If you do not get a letter or the money has not been paid into your account by 28 January 2026, contact the Winter Fuel Payment Centre.”
Winter Fuel Payments are being paid to people who were born before September 22, 1959. You should have received your payment automatically if you claimed one of the following benefits in the qualifying week September 15 to 21, 2025:
- State Pension
- Pension Credit
- Universal Credit
- Attendance Allowance
- Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
- Carer’s Allowance
- Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
- Income Support
- income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
- Awards from the War Pensions Scheme
- Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
- Incapacity Benefit
- Industrial Death Benefit
If you do not claim any of these benefit, then you need to claim your Winter Fuel Payment if either of the following apply:
- You’ve not had the Winter Fuel Payment before
- You’ve deferred your State Pension since your last Winter Fuel Payment
You can make a claim to the Winter Fuel Payment Centre by post or phone by March 31, 2026. You won’t be eligible if you were in hospital getting free treatment for the whole of the qualifying week, and the year before that, or if you were in prison during the qualifying week.
You also weren’t eligible if you lived in a care home for the whole time from June 23, 2025 or earlier and you claim certain benefits including Universal Credit and Pension Credit.
In Scotland, the Winter Fuel Payment has been replaced with a new Pension Age Winter Heating Payment and this is worth between £101.70 and £305.10.
