Winter Fuel Payment means pensioners may get up to £600 to help with heating bills | Personal Finance | Finance
The payment is designed to help people with their heating bills, which are soaring amid the cost of living crisis. This year, eligible people will also get a Pensioner Cost of Living Payment between £150 and £300.
Typically, the eligibility rules for a Winter Fuel Payment appear simple.
A person must be born on September 25, 1956 to be able to receive the payment.
They also need to have lived in the UK for at least one day during what is known as the qualifying week.
This year, the qualifying week is September 19 to 25, 2022.
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There are other individuals who will not be able to qualify for the payment.
Firstly, if someone is in hospital getting free treatment for more than a year, they will not be able to receive the sum.
People who need permission to enter the UK and their granted leave states they cannot claim public funds won’t be eligible.
Those in prison for the whole week from September 19 to 25, 2022, will not get the payment.
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People who have not got a Winter Fuel Payment before will only need to claim if any of the following apply:
- A person does not get the state pension or benefits
- The only benefit a person gets is Adult Disability Payment from the Scottish Government, Housing Benefit, Council Tax Reduction, Child Benefit or Universal Credit
- A person lives in Switzerland or an EEA country.
If people got the payment before, they only need to claim if since their last payment they have either deferred their state pension, or moved to Switzerland or an EEA country.
The Winter Fuel Payment can be claimed either by phone or by post.
Before a person calls, they will need to have the following information:
- National Insurance number
- Bank or building society details
- BIC and IBAN numbers if living in an EEA country or Switzerland
- The date of marriage or civil partnership if appropriate.
For eligibility purposes, a person will also need to say whether during the qualifying week if they were:
- In hospital getting free in-patient treatment
- In prison
- In a residential care home or Ilford Park Resettlement Home.
