Payments will automatically be sent into bank accounts.
Winter Fuel Payments are worth between £100 and £300 (Image: Getty)
Automatic payments of up to £300 have been confirmed by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) for state pensioners aged 80 and over this winter.
The money comes from this year’s Winter Fuel Payment, which will rollout to eligible pensioners in England and Wales from November to help with heating costs this winter. Under the DWP eligiblity criteria for winter 2026 to 2027, pensioners born before June 28, 1960, will be eligible to receive a payment, but the amount you get depends on your age and individual circumstances. The payments will be issued under Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, who inherits the current Winter Fuel Payment system from his predecessors, Sir Keir Starmer and ex-Chancellor Rachel Reeves.
Mr Burnham has vowed to lead a ‘cost of living government’ to help ease the pressure on household budgets and as Winter Fuel Payments are one such cost of living measure that provides valuable financial support to pensioners, these payments are expected to proceed as planned from next month.
Winter Fuel Payments in the 2026/27 tax year are worth between £100 and £300, but payment amounts will vary depending on your circumstances.
According to the DWP eligibility criteria, older pensioners born before September 28, 1946 (so those aged 80 and over) who live alone will receive a £300 Winter Fuel Payment.
If you were born between September 28, 1946 and June 27, 1960 (so those under 80) and you live alone, you’ll get a £200 Winter Fuel Payment.
If you live with someone else who’s eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment then your payment amount may be different.
Confirming the payments, the DWP said: “If you live alone or no one you live with is eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment, you’ll get either:
- £200 if you were born between 28 September 1946 and 27 June 1960
- £300 if you were born before 28 September 1946
If you live with someone else who’s eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment, your payment may be different if you get one of the following benefits:
- Pension Credit
- Universal Credit
- income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
“If you do not get any of the benefits, you’ll get a payment of:
- £100 if you and the person you live with were both born between 28 September 1946 and 27 June 1960
- £100 if you were born between 28 September 1946 and 27 June 1960 but the person you live with was born before 28 September 1946
- £200 if you were born before 28 September 1946 but the person you live with was born between 28 September 1946 and 27 June 1960
- £150 if you and the person you live with were both born before 28 September 1946
“If you and your partner jointly claim any of the benefits, one of you will get a payment of either:
- £200 if both of you were born between 28 September 1946 and 27 June 1960
- £300 if one or both of you were born before 28 September 1946.”
The DWP will send out letters to pensioner households this month confirming the payment amount you’ll get, with the money then due to be paid into accounts automatically in November and December.
Most pensioners on any of the following 12 benefits will receive their Winter Fuel Payment automatically from November and don’t need to do anything to claim it:
- 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
- Industrial Death Benefit
If you don’t get any of these, then you will need to submit a claim for the payment if either of the following apply:
- you’ve not got the Winter Fuel Payment before
- you’ve deferred your State Pension since your last Winter Fuel Payment
Pensioners with a total income over £35,000 will have their Winter Fuel Payment automatically clawed back by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), either by a change in tax code or by adding the amount to Self Assessment tax returns.
The deadline to opt out of receiving a Winter Fuel Payment this year has now passed, but pensioners can opt out of next year’s payment from December 21. Opting out won’t affect your State Pension and you don’t need to opt out every year as you won’t receive a payment in future unless you choose to opt back in.
If you do decide to opt back in, you can do so by contacting the Winter Fuel Payment Centre. To get a payment for winter 2026 to 2027, you will need to contact the service before March 31, 2027.