Millions of UK households are set to receive help to pay their energy bills despite soaring costs. The Winter Fuel Payments will help British people over the age of receiving the state pension to heat their homes this winter amid the cost of living crisis.
The one-off payment will arrive in bank accounts for those who are eligible in the next few months, reports Coventry Live. The payment has been created to help elderly people with their gas and energy bills.
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The Winter Fuel Payment is available for anyone born on or before September 26, 1956. Normally, eligible pensioners can get between £100 to £300 to put towards their heating costs, depending on age and means. However, this year, the amount to be received will also include the Pensioner Cost of Living Payment, which will increase the potential payments to between £250 to £600.
If a person qualifies and lives alone (or none of the people they live with qualify), they could get:
- Born between September 25, 1942, and September 25, 1956: £500
- Born on or before September 25, 1942: £600
If a person qualifies and lives with someone under 80, who also qualifies:
- Born between September 25, 1942, and September 25, 1956: £250
- Born on or before September 25, 1942: £350
If a person qualifies and lives with someone who gets certain benefits (including Pension Credit, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) or Income Support):
- Born between September 25, 1942, and September 25, 1956: £500 (only one person will receive the payment)
- Born on or before September 25, 1942: £600 (only one person will receive the payment)
If a person qualifies, lives in a care home and doesn’t get certain benefits:
- Born between September 25, 1942, and September 25, 1956: £250
- Born on or before September 25, 1942: £300
To be eligible, those over the state pension age must have lived in the UK for at least one day of the ‘qualifying week’ this year, which was September 19 - September 25, 2022. If you did not live in the country for that week you can still qualify if you can prove a genuine, sufficient link to the UK and if you lived in either Switzerland or a European Economic Area (EEA) country.
If you receive state pension or another social security benefit the payment will be made automatically. This does not include Adult Disability Payment from the Scottish Government, Housing Benefit, Council Tax Reduction, Child Benefit or Universal Credit.
A pensioner will also not qualify if:
- They’ve been in hospital getting free treatment for more than a year
- They need permission to enter the UK and their granted leave states that they cannot claim public funds
- They were in prison for the whole week from September 19 to 25, 2022
- They lived in a care home for the whole time from June 27 to September 25, 2022, and received Pension Credit, Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) or income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
