State pensioners born before June 28, 1960 will be in line for an automatic payment of up to £300 from the DWP this year.
The Department for Work and Pensions has confirmed the exact details of the Winter Fuel Payment rates and the birth dates of those eligible for the £200 to £300 boost later this year.
The Winter Fuel Payment programme for winter 2025-26 has now completed, with final payments having been made to pensioners by the end of January. But this coming winter, the next schedule of payments will begin to be made from October 2026.
The DWP has confirmed who will be able to get a payment and how much it will be, with older pensioners being given a larger £300 payment than the standard £200.
It said: “If you were born before 28 June, 1960 you could get between £100 and £300 to help you pay your heating bills for winter 2026 to 2027. This is known as a ‘Winter Fuel Payment’.
“You can get a Winter Fuel Payment if you were born on or before 27 June, 1960 and live in England or Wales.”
Those who are eligible will get a letter in October or November which will detail how much you will get.
It adds: “The amount you get is based on when you were born and your circumstances between 21 to 27 September, 2026. This is called the ‘qualifying week’.
“Any money you get will not affect your other benefits.”
But it added that the following groups will not be eligible:
“You will not be eligible if you:
were in hospital getting free treatment for the whole of the week of 21 to 27 September, 2026 and the year before that
need permission to enter the UK and your granted leave says that you cannot claim public funds
were in prison for the whole of the week of 21 to 27 September, 2026.”
The one catch is that if you earn more than £35,000 in a year, including from the state pension itself, you will not be eligible to keep it and will need to hand the money back to HMRC in tax instead.
The DWP adds: “If your income is over £35,000. HMRC will take your Winter Fuel Payment back by either changing your tax code (or) adding the amount to your Self Assessment tax return.”
If you’re checking your eligibility, make sure you don’t fall foul of scammers.
Accountancy firm Robson Laidler says in its guidance: “HMRC claim to have removed a total of 4,600 websites linked to Winter Fuel payment claims (June 2025).
“Please be aware that these scammers can be very convincing and are illegal. Winter Fuel Allowance payments are made automatically by HMRC and any amount to be repaid will be taken via the tax system. Any queries should always be completed through a trusted advisor or your accountant if you have one, or directly through the government website gov.uk which is free to use.”