Why have I stopped getting the Winter Fuel Payment?

The Winter Fuel Payment was restricted to households on Pension Credit or another qualifying means-tested benefit for winter 2024-25. That restriction was later reversed, and from winter 2025-26 the payment returned to everyone over the age threshold. Pension Credit no longer decides whether you get it. 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, Monday 21 to Sunday 27 September 2026.

Why yours may be missing or lower

• It has not arrived yet. A letter stating your amount is sent in October or November, and most people are paid in November or December 2026. You have until 31 March after the winter to claim.
• HMRC recovered it. If your own total taxable income is over £35,000, HMRC takes the whole payment back. It is all or nothing, not tapered, and your partner’s income does not count. It is normally collected through your tax code, or through Self Assessment if you file a return.
• You opted out. You can opt out rather than have the payment recovered. The deadline for winter 2026-27 was 6pm on 18 September 2026, so it has passed for this winter.
• You live in Scotland. The Winter Fuel Payment does not apply there. It was replaced by the Pension Age Winter Heating Payment from Social Security Scotland, worth £105.55 to £316.70, with the same £35,000 recovery rule.
• Your household or care situation changed the amount. Each eligible person is normally paid separately, and the amount depends on age and who else in the household is eligible — the exception is a couple on a joint means-tested claim, who receive one payment between them.

What it is worth

• Living alone, or nobody else in the household is eligible: £200 if you were born from 28 September 1946 to 27 June 1960, or £300 if you were born before 28 September 1946.
• Sharing with another eligible person: £100 each if both were born from 28 September 1946 to 27 June 1960, or £150 each if both were born before 28 September 1946. Where the ages are mixed, the person born before 28 September 1946 gets £200 and the other person gets £100.
• In a care home: £100 if you were born from 28 September 1946 to 27 June 1960, or £150 if you were born before 28 September 1946. You are not eligible at all if you have lived in a care home for the whole time from 29 June 2026 or earlier and you get Pension Credit, Universal Credit or income-related ESA.
• Couples on a joint claim for Pension Credit, Universal Credit or income-related ESA receive one payment, made to one of you: £200 if both are under 80, or £300 if either is 80 or over.

What to do next

• If you believe you qualify but have received nothing, or you want to ask about opting out, contact the Winter Fuel Payment Centre on 0800 731 0160.
• The payment is not taxable and does not count as income, so it never reduces Universal Credit, Pension Credit or any other award.
• Pension Credit is not needed for the Winter Fuel Payment, but it is still worth checking for its own sake. It remains a gateway to Cold Weather Payments, the Warm Home Discount, full Council Tax Reduction, free NHS dental treatment and eye tests, and a free TV licence for the over-75s.

Do not stop there — other cold-weather help is separate and stacks:

• Warm Home Discount — £150 off your electricity bill, usually applied automatically if you receive Guarantee Credit and your supplier is in the scheme.
• Cold Weather Payments — £25 for each seven-day period of temperatures at or below 0°C, paid automatically to people on Pension Credit and certain other benefits.