DWP Winter Fuel Payment loophole means pensioners still qualify despite missing deadline

In the past the Winter Fuel Payment, worth up to £300, was available to everyone aged 66 and above.

A little-known loophole which means you can qualify for the £300 Winter Fuel Payment despite missing the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) benefit deadline. In the past the Winter Fuel Payment, worth up to £300, was available to everyone aged 66 and above.

But due to a shake-up in eligibility you need to be claiming Pension Credit this year. Pension Credit applications can be backdated for three months, so if you apply at any time within the next three months, your claim will be backdated until this week.

This means that the absolute deadline to claim the benefit and qualify for this year's Winter Fuel Payment is December 21. Of course, if you fail to apply for the benefit before this date, you won't qualify for this year's £300.

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After the controversial eligibility shake-up, one 72-year-old claimant fumed to the Guardian newspaper: "I was made redundant from my job in construction when I was 58 and so I’ve received the winter fuel payment every year since then, which has helped pay for the gas and electricity bills. My wife has a part-time job which means we can’t get pension credit as it takes our household income over the [eligibility] limit."

John, from the North East of England, added: "I feel like I’m being penalised for working my whole life. I’ve applied for painting, decorating and handyman jobs to earn a bit of money but employers don’t want to give them to someone my age. Now we’ll either have to turn the heating off or cut down on food.

"I’ve always been a Conservative voter but last year I voted for Reform. The last few elections before that I didn’t vote for anyone as I was fed up with politics in general. The Conservatives under Boris Johnson were a shambles and Partygate was shocking, but I didn’t expect Labour to go ahead with this.

"God knows what’s going to happen in the budget in October but they’ve [the government] robbed us pensioners."