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The vast majority of these payments will land in pensioners鈥� bank accounts automatically, directly helping vulnerable households with their energy bills. The value of a Winter Fuel Payment is 拢200 for people born between 23 September 1944 and 22 September 1958, and 拢300 for those born before 23 September 1944.

The payment will be credited to bank accounts from 25 November with the payment reference beginning with the customer鈥檚 National Insurance number followed by 鈥�DWP WFP鈥�. Those who do not receive a payment by 29 January 2025 should contact the department.

The Government continues to urge pensioners on a low income to apply for Pension Credit before the 21 December deadline 鈥� all eligible claimants would receive up to 拢300 with the Winter Fuel Payment as well as any backdated Pension Credit arrears where applicable.

Pension Credit could be worth on average up to 拢3,900 a year and acts as a gateway to other important benefits including help with housing costs, council tax reductions and NHS treatment costs. The Pension Credit standard minimum guarantee will soon be worth 拢227.10 a week for a single person and 拢346.60 for a couple.

This Government is also providing further protection against energy costs this winter for low-income households through DWP鈥檚 Cold Weather Payments, paid from 01 November until the end of March 2025.

These are an automatic bank top-up of 拢25, paid to eligible households when the average temperature in the area has been recorded as, or is forecast to be, zero degrees or below over seven consecutive days.

In addition, the 拢150 Warm Home Discount scheme has been extended, alongside an additional 拢1 billion for the Household Support Fund and Discretionary Housing Payments in 2025 -26, demonstrating this Government鈥檚 commitment to addressing immediate hardship and crisis for vulnerable families across the country.聽

Alongside this seasonal support, the government is committed to supporting pensioners all year round. This includes increasing the basic and new State Pension by 4.1 percent from April 2025, which means the full rate of the new State Pension will rise to over 拢12,000 a year.

Further Information:

• Further information on who is entitled to a Winter Fuel Payment is available here Winter Fuel Payment: Eligibility聽
• Help for pensioners to work out how much they will receive is available on 188体育: Winter Fuel Payment: How much you鈥檒l get.
• Most payments are made automatically in November or December, and should be received by 29 January 2025.
• Those who do not receive a payment by 29 January 2025 should contact the department: Winter Fuel Payment: Report a change or cancel your payment.
• The majority of pensioners will receive their payment automatically, but some people living in Switzerland or an eligible EEA country need to claim.
• Further information about claiming can be found here: Winter Fuel Payment: Check if you need to claim