State pensioners born before 1953 can get up to £550 from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in December.
Extra financial support is available to eligible pensioners during the winter months in the form of a £300 Winter Fuel Payment, a Warm Homes Discount worth £150 and Cold Weather Payments worth £25 per week.
If Cold Weather Payments were issued every week in December, amounting to £100 in total, households could get a maximum of £550 worth of payments from the DWP this month, giving thousands a welcome income boost just in time for Christmas.
You’ll be eligible for a Cold Weather Payment if the average temperature in your area is recorded as, or forecast to be, 0C or below over seven consecutive days. The DWP will pay £25 for each seven-day period of very cold weather up to March 31, 2025.
The Met Office is forecasting snow in some parts of the UK this weekend as Storm Darragh sweeps across the country, which could see payments triggered in some postcodes.
If you’re due a payment, the money will appear in your bank within 14 days and the reference will start with your National Insurance number followed by ‘DWP CWP’.
Pensioners born before 1953 can also qualify for the Warm Home Discount scheme, which provides £150 off your electricity bill. The discount is paid automatically by your energy supplier and applied straight to your bill. You’ll qualify for this if all of the following applied on August 11, 2024:
your energy supplier is part of the scheme
your name (or your partner’s) is on the electricity bill
you or your partner are getting the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit (even if you get Savings Credit as well)
If you qualify, your electricity supplier will apply the discount to your bill between now and March 31, 2025.
Additionally, pensioners claiming Pension Credit will qualify for the Winter Fuel Payment which is worth up to £300. If you’re not already getting Pension Credit, you have until December 21 to submit a claim to get both backdated Pension Credit and your Winter Fuel Payment.
You must have reached State Pension age to qualify for Pension Credit and have an income less than £218.15 per week (or £332.95 if you’re a couple). If your income is between £218 and £235 per week (or £333 to £350 for couples) then you may still qualify, but it will depend on your circumstances.
It means that pensioners who claim the Basic State Pension should be eligible for Pension Credit as this only amounts to £169.50. As such if you’re a man born on or after April 6, 1951, or a woman born on or after April 6, 1953, you can apply for the benefit and in turn qualify for the Winter Fuel Payment.
If you were born before 1953 and get the New State Pension, you’ll be paid at a rate of £221.20 per week which is above the threshold for Pension Credit eligibility. In this case you may not be eligible for Pension Credit or the Winter Fuel Payment as your income is too high, unless the amount you get is lower due to missing National Insurance qualifying years, for example.
Those who do meet the criteria should get the Winter Fuel Payment which is paid automatically in November or December. You should get a letter from the DWP telling you how much you’re entitled to and which account the money will be paid into.
