DWP says four groups 'not eligible' for winter fuel payment even if they meet age rule

Officials from the Department for Work and Pensions have clarified that four groups of people will NOT receive the winter fuel payment, despite meeting the key age criteria.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has reinstated the payment for 9 million pensioners this winter.

The winter fuel payment provides individuals with between £200 - £300 depending on their circumstances. To be eligible, they must be of a certain age and earn £35,000 or less in taxable income.

The DWP has confirmed that the winter fuel payment for 2025 to 2026 will be made to everyone in England and Wales born before 22 September 1959.

Eligible individuals will receive a letter in October or November informing them of how much Winter Fuel Payment they'll receive.

However, there are four groups of people who will not be eligible even if they were born here and meet the cash and age criteria.

• live outside England and Wales
• were in hospital getting free treatment for the whole of the week of 15 to 21 September 2025 and the year before that need permission to enter the UK and your granted leave says that you cannot claim public funds
• were in prison for the whole of the week of 15 to 21 September 2025
• If they live in a care home

People can get the Winter Fuel Payment if they live in a care home.

• they get Universal Credit, Pension Credit, Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) or income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• they lived in a care home for the whole time from 23 June 2025 or earlier

HMRC will take your Winter Fuel Payment back by either:

• changing your tax code for the 2026 to 2027 tax year
• adding the amount to your 2025 to 2026 Self Assessment tax return

The energy price cap will rise by 2% from October 1 for a typical household in England, Scotland and Wales, Ofgem has said.

The increase will see bills increase by around £2.93 a month for the average household, leaving a home on a default tariff paying £102 for what currently costs £100 per month.

Latest figures show more than a third of customers (37%) are now on fixed tariffs, which means they are protected from the upcoming rise.

Tim Jarvis, director general of markets at Ofgem, said: “While there is still more to do, we are seeing signs of a healthier market.

“There are more people on fixed tariffs saving themselves money, switching is rising as options for consumers increase, and we’ve seen increases in customer satisfaction, alongside a reduction in complaints.

“While today’s change is below inflation, we know customers might not be feeling it in their pockets.

“There are things you can do though – consider a fixed tariff as this could save more than £200 against the new cap.

“Paying by direct debit or smart pay-as-you-go could also save you money.

“In the longer term, we will continue to see fluctuations in our energy prices until we are insulated from volatile international gas markets.

“That’s why we continue to work with Government and the sector to diversify our energy mix to reduce the reliance on markets we do not control.”