DWP Winter Fuel Payments worth up to £300 to start landing in bank accounts

The payments volition spell to acold less radical this twelvemonth (Image: PA)

From Monday, November 25, astir 1.3 cardinal pensioner households crossed England and Wales volition statesman to person up to £300 successful Winter Fuel Payments, the DWP has confirmed. The bulk of these payments volition beryllium automatically deposited into pensioners' slope accounts.

The worth of a Winter Fuel Payment is £200 for individuals calved betwixt September 23, 1944, and September 22, 1958, and £300 for those calved earlier September 23, 1944. The outgo volition beryllium credited to slope accounts from November 25, with the outgo notation opening with the customer's National Insurance fig followed by 'DWP WFP'.

If a outgo is not received by January 29, 2025, the section should beryllium contacted. However, this winter's outgo has sparked contention aft the Labour government, which took bureau successful July, decided to marque it means-tested.

This implies that lone pensioners who person different benefits, specified arsenic Pension Credit, volition person it, alternatively than each pensioners arsenic was antecedently the case. The Government has defended its decision, arguing that galore recipients were affluent capable not to necessitate it.

However, campaigners person criticised the move, claiming it volition permission galore pensioners struggling during the coldest period of the year.

In October, foundation Age UK highlighted a bleak script for pensioners crossed the nation, revealing its investigation that indicated 10.7 cardinal UK pensioners would beryllium stripped of a important benefit. Shockingly, astir a 4th (23%) of these individuals are surviving successful poverty—with an income little than 60% of the median—or hardly supra the poorness line.

The charity’s findings pointed retired that a staggering 80%, equating to immoderate 800,000, of those aged implicit 80 who are successful poorness oregon hovering conscionable supra it volition beryllium excluded from receiving the payment. Additionally, a important 78%—or 1.1 million—of pensioners with disabilities successful akin fiscal straits volition besides miss out.

Following the arguable decision, Government officials person been actively directing pensioners to verify their eligibility for Pension Credit, which supplements the income of low-income individuals. They noted that hundreds of thousands person not taken vantage of the payment erstwhile they so qualify.

Speaking connected the matter, a DWP spokesperson urged enactment this Monday: "The Government continues to impulse pensioners connected a debased income to use for Pension Credit earlier the December 21 deadline – each eligible claimants would person up to £300 with the Winter Fuel Payment arsenic good arsenic immoderate backdated Pension Credit arrears wherever applicable."

They added a compelling statement for taking up the offer: "Pension Credit could beryllium worthy connected mean up to £3,900 a twelvemonth and acts arsenic a gateway to different important benefits including assistance with lodging costs, assembly taxation reductions and NHS attraction costs. The Pension Credit modular minimum warrant volition soon beryllium worthy £227.10 a week for a azygous idiosyncratic and £346.60 for a couple.

"This Government is besides providing further extortion against vigor costs this wintertime for low-income households done DWP's Cold Weather Payments, paid from November 1 until the extremity of March 2025. These are an automatic slope top-up of £25, paid to eligible households erstwhile the mean somesthesia successful the country has been recorded as, oregon is forecast to be, zero degrees oregon beneath implicit 7 consecutive days.

"In addition, the £150 Warm Home Discount strategy has been extended, alongside an further £1 cardinal for the Household Support Fund and Discretionary Housing Payments successful 2025 -26, demonstrating this Government's committedness to addressing contiguous hardship and situation for susceptible families crossed the country.

"Alongside this seasonal support, the authorities is committed to supporting pensioners each twelvemonth round. This includes expanding the basal and caller State Pension by 4.1 percent from April 2025, which means the afloat complaint of the caller State Pension volition emergence to implicit £12,000 a year."