Brits could receive £500 of heating bill help, find out if you are eligible

As temperatures start to drop, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has issued the 2023/24 Winter Fuel Payment guidance. Brits could receive £500 of heating bill help, depending on their household situation.

Households with at least one person aged between 66 and 79 could be eligible for the £500 payment.

The support will begin from November, as the winter weather approaches. Find out more below.

You could receive more than £500

DWP Pensions Minister Laura Trott MBE MP has said that households with someone aged 80 and over should receive £600. She told Sir David Evennett MP in a letter that ‘over eight million UK households on eligible means tested benefits… will receive additional cost of living payments totalling up to £900. She wrote:

… households will receive a £300 pensioner cost of living payment as a top up to their Winter Fuel Payment later this year increasing payments to £500 for households with someone aged 66-79 and £600 for households with someone aged 80 and over.

Find out if you are eligible

To be eligible, you have to have been born before 25 September 1957 and lived in the UK for at least one day during the preceding week of 18-24 September 2023.

If you did not meet either of these qualifying criteria, or if you live abroad, you may need to make a claim.

It is worth noting that, if you have already had a Winter Fuel Payment, you do not normally need to claim again unless you have deferred your State Pension or, again, have moved abroad.

If you are eligible, you should receive a letter in October from the DWP which will tell you how much money you are due to be paid.

If you do not receive a letter from the DWP in October, or the money has not been paid into your account by January 26, 2024, then you should contact the Winter Fuel Payment Centre. You can find more details on how to do this on GOV.UK.

Read more: Save money and keep your home warm this winter with these cost-effective hacks

Here’s how to make a claim

The deadline for you to make a claim for this winter is March 31, 2024. There are two options: from 18 September 2023 you can claim by post and from 4 October 2023 you can claim by phone. GOV.UK’s ‘check if you need to claim’ page can help you will this process.

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Sources used:

GOUV.UK

Mirror: £500 of heating bill help this year – but only for Brits in one specific age group