As part of two separate the Department for Work and Pensions ( DWP ) schemes, UK households face Winter Fuel Payments totalling up to £300, as well as the Warm Home Discount, which is £150.

UK households set to wake up to free £450 payments to help them through winter

by · Birmingham Live

UK households are being handed NEW payments worth £450 to help them cope through winter. As part of two separate the Department for Work and Pensions ( DWP ) schemes, UK households face Winter Fuel Payments totalling up to £300, as well as the Warm Home Discount, which is £150.

You can get a Winter Fuel Payment for Winter 2024 to 2025 if you were born before 23 September 1958. You must also live in England, Wales or Northern Ireland and get one of the following: Pension Credit, Universal Credit, income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), Income Support, Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit

You’ll also need to have been getting a benefit during the qualifying week of 16 to 22 September 2024. More than 800,000 older people living on very low incomes – under £218.25 a week for single pensioners and under £332.95 for couples – who are already missing out on the Pension Credit they are entitled to will now also lose the Winter Fuel Payment that helps them to pay their energy bills.

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In addition, there are also about one million pensioners whose weekly incomes are less than £50 per week above the Pension Credit line, who will also be hit hard by the loss of the Payment. Older people in Norfolk often tell us they struggle financially in the winter months so the proposed change will now make it even harder for them to afford to stay warm later in the year.

To qualify for the Warm Home Discount, you or your partner must have an account with a participating electricity supplier and one of you must claim one of the following: the Guarantee Credit portion of Pension Credit or a different 'qualifying benefit' (if you have high energy costs).

If you claim a qualifying benefit, the government will assess your energy costs based on the type, age and size of your property. This happens on a specific date, known as the 'qualifying date'. For 2023-24, this was 13 August 2023. You might not be eligible for the Warm Home Discount if you live in a more energy-efficient property, even if you receive a qualifying benefit (though this doesn't apply to recipients of the Guarantee Credit portion of Pension Credit).