Claiming winter fuel payment

Arthurian

Your latest article about energy bills says “ If you’ve not got the winter fuel payment before, …. you'll need to claim it.” Yet the linked gov.uk website says you don’t need to claim if you receive the state pension.  What do you do if you started receiving the state pension this year, so have never had the winter fuel payment before? Do you need to claim it or will it come automatically?

Rodders53

Automatically.  Believe the .gov site it's the horse's mouth.

If it don't come.. THEN you claim (not until the date .gov give and is early in next year). 
It happens, albeit rarely, that payment isn't automatic.

As an October baby I missed the WFP for the year I first got SP as the qualifying date is in September.

MSE_Clare

Hi Arthurian

Thanks for your message.

We have clarified the position with DWP and they have confirmed that as long as you had reached state pension age before 25 September 2023, you will automatically receive the winter fuel payment.

If you’ve not got the winter fuel payment before and you don't claim one of the eligible benefits (for example, you only claim housing benefit, council tax reduction, child benefit or universal credit), or you’ve deferred your state pension since your last winter fuel payment, you'll need to claim it. You can claim by post or by calling 0800 731 0160 from 4 October 2023.

We have updated our guide to reflect the above information.

Clare Casalis - MSE Energy Expert

This question and answer came about during the MSE Forum 'Ask An Expert' event. It won't be updated so may no longer be correct at time of reading. This info does not constitute financial advice: always do your own research on top to make sure it's right for your circumstances

Ask an Expert: Energy (Sep 2023)

Some useful MSE content mentioned above:

Gov.uk: Winter Fuel Payment

MSE guide: Should I defer taking my state pension?