Pensioner Cost of Living Payment of £300

Sterlingtimes

The government website says: "The government will make these payments directly to households across the UK".

How does the government pay a household? Surely, the payment is made to individual state pensioners. But who are payments then apportioned to when there are two or more pensioners living in the same household?

Dazed_and_C0nfused

It's basically an increased winter fuel payment, as detailed here.

https://www.gov.uk/winter-fuel-payment/how-much-youll-get

molerat

Looks like they have updated the page early this year ---------- probably after thousands of phone calls

Sterlingtimes

Dazed_and_C0nfused said:

It's basically an increased winter fuel payment, as detailed here.

https://www.gov.uk/winter-fuel-payment/how-much-youll-get

I appreciate your finding the information so quickly. It is confusing that the allowance is given different names. Anyway, it appears that I aged 66 will receive £250 and my father-in-law age 87 in the same household will receive £350. The incremental one-off cost of living payment appears to be divided equally between pensioners irrespective of age.

Vegastare

I am confused - there is winter fuel payment....but what is the Cost of Living payment I thought they are 2 different things.

Sterlingtimes

Vegastare said:

I am confused - there is winter fuel payment....but what is the Cost of Living payment I thought they are 2 different things.

One government website calls this: 

One-off £300 Pensioner Cost of Living Payment

Cost of living support factsheet: 26 May 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

But elsewhere it is just part of an enhanced winter fuel payment

https://www.gov.uk/winter-fuel-payment/how-much-youll-get

p00hsticks

Vegastare said:

I am confused - there is winter fuel payment....but what is the Cost of Living payment I thought they are 2 different things.

They are two different things - but as far as I'm aware the eligibility for both the Winter Fuel Payment and the 'Pensioner' element of the Cost of Living Payment are the same,  and so it makes sense for the latter to 'piggy back' onto the payment run of the former, rather than have to develop a separate distribution method for a one-off payment. 

Vegastare

Thanks for clearing that up.

Do I understand that no one gets this if a adult child who works has moved back into the family home.  Certainly reads that way.

While I am not in that boat my friend is concerned - I told her to make her son give her more for fuel....like many he is trying to save to get on property ladder.

RG2015

 I see the following on the Government links.

Does this apply to anyone irrespective of their financial circumstances?

You qualify for a Winter Fuel Payment if both the following apply:

• you were born on or before 25 September 1956
• you lived in the UK for at least one day during the week of 19 to 25 September 2022 - this is called the ‘qualifying week’

How much will I get?

Born between 26 September 1942 and 25 September 1956
You qualify and live alone (or none of the people you live with qualify

£500

	Born on or before 25 September 1942
	£600

Edit

I have looked into this and see that the winter fuel payment is not means tested as I had thought.

whizzywoo

Vegastare said:

Thanks for clearing that up.

Do I understand that no one gets this if a adult child who works has moved back into the family home.  Certainly reads that way.

While I am not in that boat my friend is concerned - I told her to make her son give her more for fuel....like many he is trying to save to get on property ladder.

No that's not true.  If an adult pensioner lives alone or if someone else lives with them who does not qualify, then the pensioner will receive the full amount.  The adult child is a non qualifying person because they are under state pension age.

It's written that way because 2 pensioners living together would have it split between them.  But if on their own or if they are the only pensioner in the household they get the full amount. 

squirrelpie

Looking at https://www.gov.uk/winter-fuel-payment/how-much-youll-get it seems that if there are three pensioners living in a household then that household will get more than the £500 or £600 to which they should be entitled (somewhere between £750 and £900, depending on ages, I think). Is that correct or is the winter fuel payment somehow limited to just two pensioners in a household?

I don't care either way, either for myself since there's just the two of us or for any other households where there are three or more pensioners. I'm just interested to know.