Pensioners whose Winter Fuel Payment does not come through automatically have until 31 March 2025 to claim it, according to Department for Work and Pensions advice reported in August 2024. The deadline applies to eligible claimants who meet the Pension Credit criteria but whose payment was not made without a claim1.
The route to the payment runs through Pension Credit. Ministers said pensioners could still apply for the Winter Fuel Payment after the qualifying period closed, provided they applied for Pension Credit before 21 December and would have been eligible during the qualifying period of 16 to 22 September1. The qualifying period for the payment is 16 September1. Almost 900,000 pensioners needed to apply for Pension Credit to receive the payments, and a recorded message on the Pension Credit helpline said applications could take nine weeks to process1.
The timetable drew criticism. The End Fuel Poverty Coalition said backdating payments means extra bureaucracy and that money may not reach vulnerable pensioners until after the first cold spell1. Fuel Poverty Action said the process was mired in confusion and that delays would add to the misery of older people unsure whether they would be paid1.
"Assuming a pensioner meets the Pensions Credit criteria, the DWP advise that any eligible claimants whose Winter Fuel Payment does not come through automatically will have to claim for that by 31 March 2025."
Polling by YouGov for the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit found 67% of people were aware of the move to remove winter fuel allowance payments from pensioners apart from those on means-tested benefits, with 59% opposed and 28% in favour1. Citizens Advice research found a quarter of the UK population believed they could be forced to turn off their heating and hot water over the winter because of an expected rise in household energy bills from October, rising to 39% of bill payers on a low income1.
Why it matters for households
For a household that has not received the payment automatically, the money depends on a claim being made and processed, not on entitlement alone. The nine-week processing estimate and the backdating route mean the cash may arrive after the coldest part of the winter, so the payment's value as winter cover is reduced even where eligibility is not in doubt. The Winter Fuel Payment is one of several separate support routes, and it is worth knowing how it differs from the Warm Home Discount. Eligibility turns on the qualifying period and on Pension Credit, which is set out in who qualifies for the Winter Fuel Payment. For a home's energy independence, a payment that arrives late or not at all leaves the bill to be met from income or savings, or leaves heating reduced.
What happens next
The claim deadline for eligible claimants whose payment is not automatic is 31 March 20251. No further dates have been reported.
Sources1 cited
- Government winter fuel payment plans hit by chaos, endfuelpoverty.org.uk