Cost of Living Support

The Warm Home Discount is a £150 discount applied directly to your electricity bill between October and March. From 2022, most eligible people in England and Wales receive it automatically without needing to apply.

You should qualify automatically if:

• Your electricity supplier is part of the scheme (most large suppliers), and
• You receive the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit, or
• You are on a low income and your home has a high energy cost (assessed by the government using government data — no application needed)

If you think you should qualify but have not received the discount automatically, contact your energy supplier directly to request it. Suppliers must open a broader group application process for those not automatically qualifying. In Scotland, the scheme works differently and you usually need to apply through your supplier.

The Winter Fuel Payment is an automatic winter payment for older people. There is no means test, and you do not need to receive Pension Credit: for winter 2026-27 you qualify if you were born on or before 27 June 1960 and lived in England or Wales during the qualifying week, 21 to 27 September 2026. (The restriction to Pension Credit households applied to winter 2024-25 only and has been reversed.)

If you qualify, you are paid automatically, mostly in November or December. The payment is made per person, not per household: a person living alone, or with nobody else eligible, receives £200 if under 80 and £300 if 80 or over, and the amounts are lower where two eligible people share a home.

Instead of a means test, HMRC takes the whole payment back if your own taxable income is over £35,000 (your partner's income does not count). See the full Winter Fuel Payment guide for the amounts, recovery and Scotland.

Separately, if you are on a low income it is still worth checking your Pension Credit eligibility — up to one million eligible pensioners do not claim it, and it opens the door to other help such as Cold Weather Payments and the Warm Home Discount. Call the Pension Credit helpline (0800 99 1234) or use the online calculator on GOV.UK.

The Household Support Fund gave councils in England money to distribute to residents most in need. It ended on 31 March 2026. Since 1 April 2026, councils in England run the Crisis and Resilience Fund, which supports low-income households who encounter a financial shock. Councils decide how to run their schemes, so the help on offer and who is eligible can differ from council to council. Household Support Fund help took forms such as:

• Supermarket vouchers or food parcels
• Energy vouchers or direct energy top-ups
• White goods (fridges, washing machines) for households in severe hardship
• Grants for school uniforms, nappies, or essential clothing

To find out what help your council offers, contact your local council directly — usually through their website under "financial support" or "benefits".

The Crisis and Resilience Fund runs from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2029.

Two major schemes offer free or heavily subsidised energy efficiency improvements to qualifying homes:

ECO4 (Energy Company Obligation): Obligates large energy suppliers to fund insulation, heating upgrades (including heat pumps), and other energy efficiency measures for low-income households and those in the worst-insulated homes. To qualify, you must receive certain benefits (including Universal Credit, Pension Credit, Child Benefit, or Tax Credits) and live in a property rated EPC E, F, or G. Apply through your energy supplier or an installer registered with the scheme.

Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS): A separate government scheme providing single measures — usually loft or cavity wall insulation — to households in EPC D or below, as well as to low-income households regardless of EPC rating. Apply via GOV.UK or through an approved installer.

Both schemes are free to eligible households. Getting insulation installed can reduce energy bills by hundreds of pounds per year.