Winter Fuel Payments of between £150 and £400 pay out from November 2026

The £100 payment was announced in the Budget and set out by Peterborough City Council on 6 November 2026¹.

The Winter Fuel Payment is paid regardless of income, but those earning over £35,000 in a single tax year repay it through their HMRC tax code or self-assessment². The amount depends on age and household circumstances²:

A state pensioner over 80 in a Council Tax band A to D home would therefore receive £400 in total, because the Household Energy Payment is not means-tested and depends only on council tax band². The £100 payment is a one-off for this financial year, and the core scheme is targeted at properties occupied as a sole or main residence². Peterborough said further eligibility criteria will be confirmed once Government guidance is issued, and that households paying Council Tax by direct debit need do nothing, with the money paid into their bank account¹.

Scotland has replaced the Winter Fuel Payment with Pension Age Winter Heating Payment, which pays between £105.55 and £316.70 depending on age and household circumstances, with payments beginning in November and continuing through the winter³. Payments go to all eligible pensioners but are recovered from those with an individual income over £35,000 by HMRC³. The Scottish Government expects around 879,000 pensioners to benefit, and the Scottish Fiscal Commission forecasts around 1.059 million payments in winter 2026-27, with 180,000 recovered³. Scotland also pays Winter Heating Payment of £62.00 to low-income households on certain benefits from December, estimated for nearly 487,000 people, and Child Winter Heating Payment of £265.50 from the week commencing 5 October, estimated for families of over 48,000 disabled children and young people³.

"The government recognises the impact of rising energy costs on households across the UK."

The £100 payment will cost £2.6 billion, and campaigners and think tanks have described it as badly targeted and too small to protect households from the predicted rise in energy costs in January². The Resolution Foundation called it "a terribly, badly targeted kind of support", while the Prime Minister defended extending it to "the vast majority" of Britons². Express.co.uk reports forecasts that the Ofgem price cap could rise by as much as £465 in January, according to EDF Energy².

Why it matters for households

The two payments arrive at different times and on different tests. The Winter Fuel Payment is universal for state pensioners but clawed back above £35,000 of income, while the £100 Household Energy Payment is band-based and not means-tested². For a pensioner household in a band A to D home, the combined sum is the largest single injection of grants and scheme support this winter, though at £100 the new payment covers a small share of an annual bill. Eligibility for the £100 payment turns on council tax band and main residence rather than income, so who qualifies for the Winter Fuel Payment is a different question from who receives the Household Energy Payment. Households in Scotland receive different amounts and different schemes entirely³.

What happens next

The Household Energy Payment is available to eligible households from January 2027, with further eligibility criteria to be confirmed once Government guidance is issued¹. In Scotland, Winter Heating Payment begins from December³.

Sources3 sources

1. £100 household energy payment announced by Government | Peterborough City Council, peterborough.gov.uk
2. Dates state pensioners get £300 Winter Fuel Payments with some handed £100 on top | Personal Finance | Finance | Express.co.uk, express.co.uk
3. Winter heating help for over 1 million people - gov.scot, gov.scot