State pensioners being handed four DWP payments worth £4,375 over next few weeks

State pensioners are being sent four payments worth £4,375 in the wake of the Labour Party Budget. As we head towards Christmas, state pensioners can benefit from a string of payments worth THOUSANDS directly into their bank account.

Cold Weather Payments are worth £25 and are awarded when the average temperature where you live is recorded as, or forecast to be, 0C or below over seven consecutive days. It is possible to get multiple payments, if you go through several spells of freezing weather.

The scheme normally opens in November and runs until the end of March, covering the winter period. But it isn't the only payment you can get, with a whole host of payments on offer to help tide over hard-up pensioners amid the cold snap:

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Cold Weather Payments - £25

You need to be living in England or Wales and claiming one of these benefits or Support for Mortgage Interest to be eligible for a Cold Weather Payment:

• Pension Credit
• Income Support (if you have any of the following: disability or pensioner premium, a child who is disabled, Child Tax Credit that includes a disability or severe disability element or a child under five living with you)
• Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance (if you have any of the following: disability or pensioner premium, a child who is disabled, Child Tax Credit that includes a disability or severe disability element or a child under five living with you)
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (if you have any of the following: severe or enhanced disability premium, a pensioner premium, a child who is disabled, Child Tax Credit that includes a disability or severe disability element or a child under five living with you)
• Universal Credit (if you're not employed or "gainfully" self-employed, your partner is not employed or "gainfully" self-employed - you or your must also have a health condition or disability and have limited capability for work, or have a child under five living with you)
• Support for Mortgage Interest (if you have any of the following: severe or enhanced disability premium, a pensioner premium, a child who is disabled, Child Tax Credit that includes a disability or severe disability element or a child under five living with you)

If you live in Scotland, you might be entitled to an annual £50 Winter Heating Payment instead.

The Warm Home Discount - £150

The Warm Home Discount scheme gives eligible households £150 off their electricity bill, with the money credited to their energy account or made available in the form of vouchers for prepayment customers. The scheme is available in England, Scotland and Wales and is set to reopen in October.

You should receive a letter telling you about the discount if you’re eligible - and if you don't receive anything by mid-January, then you may need to apply. To be eligible for the Warm Home Discount scheme, your energy supplier must first be signed up. You can check the full list on the GOV.UK website. You should get the payment automatically if you, or your partner, receive the Guarantee Credit portion of Pension Credit - this is known as “core group one”.

You, or your partner, need to have been claiming Pension Credit on the qualifying date, which for the 2023/24 winter is August 13, 2023. This date will change when the scheme reopens in 2024. You should also get the discount automatically in England and Wales if you claim certain benefits and have high energy costs.

Benefits that qualify you for the Warm Home Discount in England and Wales are:

• Housing Benefit
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
• Income Support
• "Savings Credit" part of Pension Credit
• Universal Credit

You could also qualify if your household income falls below a certain threshold and you get:

• Child Tax Credit
• Working Tax Credit

If you live in Scotland and you claim benefits, you’ll need to apply for the Warm Home Discount through your supplier under the “broader group” criteria. Your electricity supplier may have extra eligibility criteria, as it is up to them who gets the discount in Scotland.

Pension Credit - £3,900

Pension Credit gives you extra money to help with your living costs if you’re over State Pension age and on a low income. Pension Credit can also help with housing costs such as ground rent or service charges. You might get extra help if you’re a carer, severely disabled, or responsible for a child or young person.

Pension Credit is separate from your State Pension. You can get Pension Credit even if you have other income, a pension, savings or own your own home

Winter Fuel Payment - up to £300

The Winter Fuel Payment is worth £200 for eligible households, or £300 for eligible households with someone aged over 80. If you're in a care home, and you're eligible, you'll get either £100 or £150 if you're over the age 80. To get the Winter Fuel Payment this year if you live in England or Wales, you must have been born before September 23, 1958, and claiming one of the following benefits between September 16 and September 22, 2024:

• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Pension Credit
• Universal Credit

You also need to have lived in the UK - although in some cases you can claim if you’ve moved abroad - for at least one day for the "qualifying week" which changes every year. This is normally the week beginning from the third Monday in September. If you don't live in the UK, the rules for if you can still qualify are changing for this year, with an update expected in September. Previously, you may be eligible if you moved to an eligible country before January 1, 2021 and you have a genuine and sufficient link to the UK. This can include having lived or worked in the UK, and having family in the UK.

You won't be entitled to a Winter Fuel Payment if you lived in a care home for the whole time from June 24 to September 22, 2024. You can still be eligible if you live in a care home on a temporary basis, which is less than 13 weeks by the end of the qualifying period. You also won't be eligible if you've been in hospital getting free treatment for more than a year, if you needed permission to enter the UK and your granted leave says that you cannot claim public funds, or if you are in prison for the whole of the week of September 16 to September 22, 2024.

The Pension Age Winter Heating Payment will replace the Winter Fuel Payments in Scotland next year and last week, the Scottish government confirmed that this payment will now also be means-tested, instead of available to everyone over state pension age. It has not yet been confirmed if the Winter Fuel Payment is changing in Northern Ireland.