DWP says pensioners must act by a certain date to get a Winter Fuel Payment which is worth £300 each.

DWP says state pensioners must act by this date or lose £300 payment

DWP says pensioners must act by a certain date to get a Winter Fuel Payment which is worth £300 each.

by · Birmingham Live

The Department for Work and Pensions has issued the exact date state pensioners need to act for a free £300 payment. DWP says pensioners must act by a certain date to get a Winter Fuel Payment which is worth £300 each.

The DWP is urging pensioners to check to see if they could be eligible for Pension Credit. If they are, they will also automatically get this year's Winter Fuel Payment - as long as they claim by a certain date, the DWP has said.

State pensioners may be eligible for Pension Credit if their weekly income is below £218.15 for a single person or £332.95 for a couple. If a successful claim is made, the benefit can be backdated by up to three months, the DWP stipulates.

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To get the Winter Fuel Payment, you need to claim Pension Credit by December 21. That's because you need to be in receipt of the qualifying benefit during a certain timeframe to get the extra cash, the DWP has explained online.

The qualifying week for the Winter Fuel Payment is September 16 to September 22, the DWP has confirmed. Because the benefit can be backdated for three months, if you claim by December 21, your claim will be backdated to September 22, meaning you qualify for the Winter Fuel Payment.

The Labour Party government has confirmed to BirminghamLive the DWP had told it that claims for pension credit could be backdated for up to three months and that “the latest that someone could make a successful backdated claim [for pension credit] to qualify for the 2024–25 winter fuel payment is therefore 21 December”.

Winter Fuel Payments are devolved in Scotland and Northern Ireland. The Scottish Government was going to introduce a new benefit – the Pension Age Winter Heating Payment (PAWHP) – to replace the UK Government’s Winter Fuel Payment on a “like for like” basis, starting from winter 2024/2025.