Winter Fuel Payment – Eligibility

Eligibility

3 Eligibility

You’ll qualify for the Winter Fuel Payment if:

  • you were born on or before 25 September 1957 (this date changes every year so you you’ll need to check back or subscribe to updates)
  • you lived in the UK for at least one day during the qualifying week of 18 to 24 September.

You may be able to get the payment if you live in Switzerland or a European Economic Area (EEA) country and you have a genuine link with the UK. You can’t get the payment if you live in Cyprus, France, Gibraltar, Greece, Malta, Portugal or Spain because the average winter temperature is higher than the warmest region of the UK.

 

When you won’t qualify

You won’t qualify if you:

  • are in hospital getting free treatment for more than 52 weeks
  • were in prison for the whole week from 19 to 25 September
  • need permission to enter the UK and don’t qualify for help from the Department for Work and Pensions
  • lived in a care home for the whole time from 27 June to 25 September 2022 and got Pension Credit, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance or income-related Employment and Support Allowance

 

Change of circumstance

Report any change of circumstance as these can affect how much you get. For example, if the qualifying person stops getting a benefit, moves out, dies or goes into care. Contact the office paying your benefits – their details are on any letters they sent you. Most Winter Fuel Payments are paid automatically. Write to the office that pays your Winter Fuel Payment if you want to cancel it.

The minimum age to qualify for the 2024-5 winter fuel payment will change next year. The date changes every year so you’ll need to check at a later date to find out if you’ll qualify in winter 2024-25.

< Previous – Overview and what you’ll get

Next – How to claim >



Do You Qualify For Cold Weather Payments?

Get The £150 Warm Home Discount

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0