DWP confirms new Winter Fuel Payment deadline with pensioners urged to act now

Pensioners have until September 15 to opt out of the Winter Fuel Payment worth up to £300.

Winter Fuel Payments are being paid this year to pensioners who were born before September 22, 1959 - but if you earn over £35,000 a year, then your Winter Fuel Payment will be automatically recovered by HMRC.

This will be done through PAYE, or through self-assessment return. The income eligibility is based per person. For example, if you earn £30,000 a year and your partner earns £40,000, one person would keep their share of the Winter Fuel Payment but the other would pay it back.

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If you earn over £35,000, then there is an option to opt out of getting your Winter Fuel Payment. You can do this by filling out a form on GOV.UK or by contacting the Winter Fuel Payment Centre by post or telephone. It comes after reports DWP state pensioners are set to be given 'extra £352' completely free.

You can check if your Winter Fuel Payment will be clawed back by HMRC on this GOV.UK page. Katherine Ford, ICAEW Technical Manager, Tax, said: “Pensioners have until Monday 15 September 2025 to contact HMRC to opt out of the Winter Fuel Payments if their total income for tax purposes is more than £35,000.

“HMRC have a useful online tool to check if income is over this amount. If a person with income over £35,000 receives the payment, it will be recovered automatically through their pay as you earn tax code for 2026/2027, unless they are in self-assessment, in which case it will be added by HMRC to their tax return for 2025/2026.“

Winter Fuel Payments are issued by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). If you are claiming one of these benefits during the qualifying week - which for this year is September 15 to 21, 2025 - then you will receive your payment automatically. The list of benefits that qualify for a Winter Fuel Payment are:

• State Pension

• Pension Credit

• Universal Credit

• Attendance Allowance

• Personal Independence Payment (PIP)

• Carer’s Allowance

• Disability Living Allowance (DLA)

• Income Support

• income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)

• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)

• Awards from the War Pensions Scheme

• Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit

• Incapacity Benefit

• Industrial Death Benefit

There are two groups that will need to put in a claim by post or over the phone. If you do not claim any of these benefit, then you will need to claim your Winter Fuel Payment if either of the following apply:

• You’ve not had the Winter Fuel Payment before

• You’ve deferred your State Pension since your last Winter Fuel Payment

If you do need to claim, you will be able to apply by post from September 15, or by phone from October 15. Winter Fuel Payments are worth £200 for eligible households, or £300 for eligible households with someone aged over 80.

Your eligibility will be based on your age by the end of the qualifying week. You won't be eligible if you were in hospital getting free treatment for the whole of the qualifying week, and the year before that, or if you were in prison during the qualifying week.

You also weren't eligible if you lived in a care home for the whole time from June 23, 2025 or earlier and you claim certain benefits including Universal Credit and Pension Credit. In Scotland, the Winter Fuel Payment has been replaced with a new Pension Age Winter Heating Payment.