DWP issues major update over claiming your free £300 Winter Fuel Payment

Thousands of households can make a claim to get their £300 Winter Fuel Payment from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and new Labour Party government TODAY. The application process opens today, October 28, for phone claims, and postal applications have already begun.

If you moved to an eligible country before January 1, 2021, were born before September 23, 1958, and have a genuine link to the UK (for example living, working, or family ties) you could be eligible. The Winter Fuel Payment is a one-off, tax-free yearly payment designed to help older people, and people on other benefit schemes, to meet the cost of heating their home in the winter.

If you’re eligible for Pension Credit, you may receive a total sum of £200 this winter if you were born between 23 September 1944 and 22 September 1958, or a sum of £300 if you were born before 23 September 1944, the DWP guidance stipulates.

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If you have a partner, and you jointly claim any of the means-tested benefits, one of you will get the payment. You will still get the 2024 Winter Fuel Payment if you apply for Pension Credit by 21 December 2024, and your claim is backdated to the qualifying week between 16 to 22 September 2024.

You will not get the Winter Fuel Payment until your Pension Credit claim is successful. Phone applications open for the Winter Fuel Payment today and then December 21 marks the last day to apply for Pension Credit and still qualify for the payment.

January 29, 2025 is the final date for automatic payments to be made and March 31, 2025 is the deadline for all claims. You can check your eligibility online by visiting www.gov.uk/pension-credit first. If you claim after you reach pension age, you can backdate your claim for up to three months.