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How to claim
4 How to Claim
You should have received your 2024-25 payment by 29th January 2025, usually between November and December.
You need to claim Winter Fuel Payment if you’ve not had it before and either of the following apply:
- you don’t get benefits or a State Pension
- you only get Housing Benefit, Council Tax Reduction or Child Benefit
You can still claim Winter Fuel Payment if you receive a State Pension and you live in Switzerland or an EEA country (except for Cyprus, France, Gibraltar, Greece, Malta, Portugal or Spain).
If you’ve claimed before
You should get your Winter Fuel Payment automatically from the organisation that pays your benefits. Contact them if you have any questions or there’s a change in your circumstances. You can find their details on any letters they’ve sent you.
Claim for the first time by phone
Call the Winter Fuel Payment Centre to claim by phone.
Winter Fuel Payment Centre
Email enquiry form
Telephone: 0800 731 0160
Telephone from outside the UK: +44 (0)191 218 7777
Textphone: 0345 606 0285
Textphone from outside the UK: +44 (0)191 218 7280
Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm
Find out about call charges
You’ll need to know:
- your National Insurance number
- your bank or building society details
- your BIC and IBAN numbers if you live in the EEA or Switzerland
- the date you were married or entered into a civil partnership (if appropriate)
Payments can’t be made into a National Savings and Investments (NS&I) account unless you already get other benefits paid into the account.
You’ll also need to say whether during the qualifying week of 18 to 24 September you were:
- in hospital getting free in-patient treatment
- in a residential care home
- in custody serving a court sentence
Claim for the first time by post
The claim form you need depends on where you live.
- Winter Fuel Payment claim form if you live in the UK
- Winter Fuel Payment claim form if you live in Switzerland or an EEA country
If your claim is for 2023 to 2024 it must arrive by 31 March 2024.
Where to send your claim form
Send your claim to the following address if you’re in the UK:
Winter Fuel Payment Centre
Mail Handling Site A
Wolverhampton
WV98 1LR
Send your claim to the following address if you’re in another EEA country or Switzerland:
Winter Fuel Payment Centre
Mail Handling Site A
Wolverhampton
WV98 1ZU
UK
Appeal a decision
You can appeal to the Social Security and Child Support Tribunal if you disagree with a decision. You must usually ask for ‘mandatory reconsideration’ before you appeal.
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Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0
