State pensioners on 14 benefits to get automatic £300 DWP payment | Personal Finance | Finance

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State pensioners receiving one of 14 benefits will automatically receive a payment of up to £300 from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Thanks to a government U-turn earlier this year, around nine million pensioners in England and Wales are set to get a Winter Fuel Payment to help pay heating bills over the winter.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced a change to eligibility rules, which means the payment will be restored to the vast majority of pensioners who were previously denied it following a rule change in 2024.

The payment was means-tested for winter 2024/25 which meant only those claiming Pension Credit or other income-related benefits were eligible to receive it. But the payment will now be given to all pensioners in England and Wales with an income of, or below, £35,000 per year and those on certain benefits will also qualify.

The DWP has confirmed that the Winter Fuel Payment will be issued automatically to those getting any of the following 14 benefits:

  • 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

If you don’t get any of these then you will need to submit a claim for the payment if either of the following apply:

The Winter Fuel Payment is worth up to £300 and the amount you get is based on when you were born and your circumstances in the qualifying week between September 15 and 21, 2025.

Those who were born between September 22, 1945 and September 21, 1959, will get a payment of £200, and those born before September 22, 1945, will get £300.

HM Treasury said: “From 2025/26 Winter Fuel Payments will be payable in England and Wales at £200 for households including someone between State Pension age and 79, and £300 for households including someone aged 80 or over.

“Where the household is not getting an income related benefit, such as Pension Credit, a shared payment will be made – e.g. a couple, each under 80, not on Pension Credit will receive a payment of £100 each.”