DWP announces Winter Fuel Payment increase for state pensioners born in these years

The Department for Work and Pensions says state pensioners who qualify for the Winter Fuel Payment will get £100 more - if they were born in certain years. The DWP Winter Fuel Allowance is an annual, tax-free lump sum payment intended to give older people reassurance they can afford to heat their homes in winter.

It is paid to people who have reached State Pension age on or before the end of the qualifying week (the week beginning the third Monday of September each year) and meet certain other entitlement conditions, such as not being in receipt of free treatment in hospital for more than a year.

First introduced in 1997, the Winter Fuel Payment amounts have varied, but in most years the amount has been £200 for households where the oldest person is under 80, and £300 for households with someone aged 80 or over. In some years, extra amounts have been paid on top of the standard payments.

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For the winters 2022/2023 and 2023/2024, households received an additional Pensioner Cost of Living Payment worth £300 along with their Winter Fuel Payment. These payments are not being repeated for winter 2024/2025, the DWP has also stipulated ahead of the colder months.

Around 11.6 million people in just over 8 million households in Great Britain were expected to receive a Winter Fuel Payment for winter 2023/2024, at a total cost of £2.0 billion. Pensioner Cost of Living Payments totalled a further £2.6 billion.

Winter Fuel Payments are devolved in Scotland and Northern Ireland. The Scottish Government was going to introduce a new benefit – the Pension Age Winter Heating Payment (PAWHP) – to replace the UK Government’s Winter Fuel Payment on a “like for like” basis, starting from winter 2024/2025.

The Northern Ireland Executive has said that it will also make equivalent changes to the Winter Fuel Payment in Northern Ireland.