Winter discounts for fuel bills

Winter Fuel Payment

Winter Fuel Payment is an annual tax-free payment to help with heating costs. Most payments are made between November and December.

You may be eligible for Winter Fuel Payment if you meet all the following criteria:

• you were born on or before 5 April 1954 (the eligibility birth date changes every financial year).
• you lived in the UK throughout the qualifying week (for the financial year 2019–2020, this is 16–22 September 2019)

You usually get a Winter Fuel Payment automatically if you receive the State Pension or another benefit, such as Pension Credit (but not Housing Benefit, Council Tax Support or Universal Credit). If you qualify, but don’t get paid automatically, you’ll need to make a claim.

If this is the first year you can claim, or if you’ve never claimed before, call the Winter Fuel Payment helpline on 0800 731 0160. You'll need to know your National Insurance number and your bank or building society details.

You only need to claim once. After this, you should automatically receive a payment every year, if your circumstances don’t change.

For further information, please click here.

Cold weather payment

You may get a Cold Weather Payment if you’re getting certain benefits or Support for Mortgage Interest.

You’ll get a payment if the average temperature in your area is recorded as, or forecast to be, zero degrees Celsius or below over 7 consecutive days. You’ll get £25 for each 7-day period of very cold weather between 1 November and 31 March.

Cold Weather Payments are different to Winter Fuel Payments.

For further information, please click here.

Warm Homes Discount Scheme

You could get £140 off your electricity bill for winter under the Warm Home Discount Scheme.

The money is not paid to you - it’s a one-off discount on your electricity bill, between September and March.

You may be able to get the discount on your gas bill instead, if your supplier provides you with both gas and electricity. Contact your supplier to find out.

There are two ways to qualify for the Warm Homes Discount Scheme:

1. you get the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit - known as the ‘core group’
2. you’re on a low income and meet your energy supplier’s criteria for the scheme - known as the ‘broader group’

How you apply for the Warm Home Discount Scheme depends on how you qualify for the discount. If you have a pre-pay or pay-as-you-go meter, you can still qualify for the discount, Your electricity supplier can tell you how you’ll get the discount if you’re eligible, for example a voucher you can use to top your meter.

The discount will not affect your Cold Weather Payment or Winter Fuel Payment.