When DWP will confirm winter fuel payment rules for OAPs with partners | Personal Finance | Finance

Around nine million pensioners in England and Wales will receive the winter fuel payment this winter, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has confirmed.

The change comes after widespread backlash to the Chancellor’s decision last winter to restrict eligibility for the payment to only state pensioners receiving means-tested benefits, which removed the annual payment – worth up to £300 – from millions. Under the new changes, all state pensioners with an income of under £35,000 a year will receive the payment automatically. Pensioners with an income above £35,000 will still receive the winter fuel payment automatically, but the payment will then be reclaimed through the tax system.

This means that if someone earns over £35,000, their share of the household payment will be recovered either via PAYE or through self-assessment, with no action required from the pensioner.

The full eligibility criteria and payment terms for the winter fuel payment, including specific rules for pensioner couples, have not yet been released. However, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has stated that these details will be published within the next few weeks.

According to a statement on the DWP website: “Details of the 2025 to 2026 payment will be available by the end of June 2025.”

Previously, winter fuel payments were made per household, meaning that a household with more than one pensioner would receive only one payment of up to £300.

For example, if two pensioners over 80 lived in the same house, they would each receive £150, splitting the total payment between them.

How much is the winter fuel payment?

During the 2024/25 tax year, payment amounts ranged between £200 and £300, and the amount eligible people received depended on their birth date.

People who live alone received:

• £200 if they were born between September 23, 1944, and September 22, 1958
• £300 if they were born before September 23, 1944.

If a person and their partner jointly claimed any of the benefits, one received a payment of either:

• £200 if one or both were born between September 23, 1944, and September 22, 1958
• £300 if one or both were born before September 23, 1944.

The DWP has confirmed the payments will range between £200 and £300 again this year, but the details of who will receive what have not formally been announced yet.