Millions will get the winter fuel payment this year - here's how to boost your chances of getting it

Most pensioners will get the winter fuel payment this year, in news that will be welcomed by millions of people.  

Here we explain everything we know so far about the winter fuel payment for 2025.

What’s on this page:

• Who will get winter fuel payments and how much will they get?
• How to claim the winter fuel payment
• How will the payment be paid back by higher earners?
• What’s the situation in Scotland and Northern Ireland?
• Pension credit and the winter fuel payment

Who will get winter fuel payments and how much will they get? 

Nine million pensioners in England and Wales will be entitled to winter fuel payments this winter, an increase of 7.5 million on last year. Around two million other people on higher incomes will receive the payment, but the money will be reclaimed from them through the tax system.

The government says expanding the winter fuel payment eligibility will cost around £1.25 billion in England and Wales.

The payments will be made as follows:

• Everyone over the state pension age with an income at or below £35,000 a year will get a winter fuel payment without having to pay it back.
• A single person above state pension age will get £200, or £300 if they are over 80. But if their income is over £35,000 a year they will have to pay it back. 
• For a couple where both people have an income of less than £35,000, they will get £100 each, or £150 each if one person is over 80.
• For a couple where one person has an income of more than £35,000 and one less, they will both get £100 (or £150) but the higher earner will have to pay theirs back.
• For a couple where both people have an income of more than than £35,000, they will get get £100 (or £150) each but will both have to pay it back.
• If a pensioner couple live with an elderly parent, so that there are three pensioners in the household, one of whom is over 80, the two under 80 will get £100 each, and the one over 80 will get £200 – so £400 in total for the household. 
• If a pensioner lives in the same household as one or more people below pension age (for example someone who lives with their son or daughter, or with their child and their child’s spouse) they will get the payment. They will only have to pay it back if they themselves have an income over £35,000. The income of the younger people in the household will not make a difference. 
• A new system will be introduced so that people on higher incomes can choose not to receive the payment in the first place.

Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said: “The decision to restore the winter fuel payment to 9 million pensioners – all but those on the highest incomes who should be able to pay their heating bills without it – is the right thing to do and something that will bring some much-needed reassurance for older people and their families.

“We have always said what really matters is that the estimated 2.5 million older people who lost their winter fuel payment when they couldn’t afford it get the money back, by one means or another. These 2.5 million comprise older people entitled to pension credit but not claiming it; those whose small incomes take them just above the line; and a third group who face extremely high bills because of severe ill health or disability. This new policy will help all these people by restoring their winter fuel payment and we welcome it as a result.”

How to claim the winter fuel payment

You don't need to do anything to claim winter fuel payment – it will be paid automatically as long as you're over state pension age. Eligibility is based on a person’s age and where they live on 15 to 21 September 2025 (and the third week of September for the following years). 

For 2025 anyone born before 22 September 1959 will get the payment.

How will the payment be paid back by higher earners?

If you need to pay it back, it will be reclaimed automatically through PAYE taxation – you won’t have to do anything. Or for the smaller number of pensioners that pay tax via a self-assessment tax return, the repayment will be added to your tax bill. 

This is similar to the way child benefit is paid and then reclaimed from higher earners.

What if your income is over £35,000 - can you still get the payment?  

The £35,000 threshold for having to repay the payment is based on your individual taxable income. It’s usually based on a financial year, so for winter 2025 the relevant financial year is 6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026. 

Taxable income includes:

• pay and any benefits from a job or from self-employment
• some state benefits, including bereavement allowance (widow’s benefit), carer’s allowance and incapacity benefit
• most pension income, including the state pension, company and personal pensions and retirement annuities
• rental income (unless you rent out a room in your home and get less than the Rent a Room Scheme limit)
• income from a trust
• interest on non-ISA savings (although you don’t pay tax on this unless the interest is more than your personal savings allowance - but it might potentially affect your entitlement to winter fuel payment)

It does not include:

• income from tax-exempt accounts, like ISAs, premium bonds and national savings certificates
• some other state benefits, including pension credit, bereavement support payment, disability living allowance and free TV licenses for over-75s
• the first £1,000 of income from self-employment
• the first £1,000 of income from property you rent (unless you’re using the Rent a Room Scheme)
• dividends from company shares under your dividends allowance
• rent you get from a lodger in your house that’s below the Rent a Room Scheme limit
• capital gains
• the winter fuel payment itself

 If you’re likely to have taxable income just over £35,000 and are keen to keep your winter fuel allowance, you may have these options:

• Reduce the amount of income you drawdown from your pension: If you’re in drawdown from a defined contribution scheme, it’s up to you how much income you withdraw each year. If you’re only just above the £35,000 threshold, you could consider whether you reduce it. But bear in mind if it’s going to affect your standard of living, it may not be worth it.
• Reduce your taxable savings income: If you earn savings interest, move it into tax-free accounts like ISAs, if you haven’t used up your ISA allowance. If you’re paying tax on savings interest (because it’s above your personal savings allowance), then this will save you money in tax, even before considering the winter fuel payment. Premium bonds and offshore bonds are other ways to reduce your taxable income on savings, but should be considered carefully as they might not be the right choice for everyone.
• Defer your state pension: This is only relevant if you have enough other income that the state pension will take you over the £35,000 threshold. And if your other income is enough for you to live on without the state pension. The winter fuel payment is based on age, not whether you're actually receiving the state pension. You can defer your state pension even if you are already claiming it, but only once.  
• Salary sacrifice, if you’re still working: Some employers allow you to make pension contributions or receive other benefits via salary sacrifice. Essentially you pay for these benefits by giving up some of your income before you’ve been paid it, which lowers your taxable income and reduces the amount of tax and national insurance that you pay. As well as pension contributions, cycle to work schemes, electric vehicle schemes and payroll giving (where you give to charity via your employer) are some other examples of salary sacrifice. 

You might be wondering whether paying more into your pension (if you’re under 75), or giving to charity are ways to reduce your taxable income so that you still get the winter fuel payment. At this point it seems unlikely.

Technically, these payments would reduce your 'adjusted net income’, not your total taxable income. So they are unlikely to make a difference to the winter fuel payment. The exception is if you do it via salary sacrifice, as outlined above.

What’s the situation in Scotland and Northern Ireland? 

The winter fuel payment is a devolved matter in Scotland and Northern Ireland, which means that the Scottish government and Northern Ireland executive set their own policies. But they also rely on funding from the Westminster government.  

They will now receive additional funding from the Westminster government. The winter fuel payment in Northern Ireland will now be paid (and reclaimed) in the same way as in England and Wales.

In Scotland the rules are very similar, but it's called the pension age winter heating payment.  This is worth £203.40, or £305.10 if someone in the household is over 80. This will also be clawed back via the tax system if you earn more than £35,000.

Pension credit and the winter fuel payment 

Until 2024, households with someone over the state pension age could receive a winter fuel payment worth £200 each year (or £300 for households with a member over age 80).  

All pensioners were eligible, regardless of their income or assets. 11.6 million pensioners in 8 million households in Great Britain received the payment at a total cost of £2.2 billion in 2023/24, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) calculated. 

In July 2024 it was announced that it would be restricted to only those claiming pension credit, just 1.5 million people (in England and Wales). This saved the government around £1.5 billion a year, according to IFS calculations. 

One issue with pension credit is that not all those entitled to it actually claim it. The Department for Work and Pensions estimated that up to 760,000 eligible households were not claiming it in 2022/23.

Since then there has been an increase in take-up of pension credit, with an increase of 57,200 in successful claims between the chancellor’s announcement on 29 July 2024 and 27 July 2025. But there are concerns that many are still missing out.

Pension credit claims were up 44% between 29 July 2024 and 27 July 2025 compared with the same period a year earlier, with 344,700 claims in total. although they have now fallen to more normal levels. A significant proportion of these claims – 163,500 – were rejected, which is an 88% rise year-on-year.

Sarah Pennells, consumer finance specialist at Royal London, said: “Even though there was a lot of publicity last year encouraging people to apply for pension credit, and therefore qualify for the winter fuel payment, our research showed that three in ten people over state pension age who were on a low income hadn’t checked to see if they were entitled to pension credit, while one in ten pensioners who had been told they qualified for pension credit hadn’t applied for it.”

Rachel Vahey, head of public policy at investment platform AJ Bell, said that the increase in pension credit claimants combined with the £1.25bn cost of reinstating the winter fuel payments for most people, plus the cost of reclaiming it for higher earners, means that “the net saving from the whole exercise is likely to be miniscule.”

But others have welcomed the fact that more people are now accessing pension credit. Stephen Lowe, group communications director at retirement specialist Just Group, said: “There has been a significant boost in take-up... This is a notable success that will see these low-income pensioner households receiving this much-needed financial support as well as unlocking the gateway to other valuable benefits, like the winter fuel payments and free TV licence.”

He added: “It remains a concern that there are still hundreds of thousands of pensioners that are entitled to pension credit payments but not receiving it.”