DWP says pensioners must act by certain date to get Winter Fuel Payment

The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) says there is an exact date that pensioners must claim Pension Credit by in order to get this year's Winter Fuel Payment.

This year, the rules around who is eligible for a Winter Fuel Payment, worth up to £300, are changing. It means millions will miss out on getting the benefit, which used to be automatically sent to everybody of state pension age.

From this winter, only people on certain benefits will be eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment, meaning millions will miss out on the extra cash to help them through the colder months.

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Pension Credit is one of the qualifying benefits for the Winter Fuel Payment and the DWP says there are hundreds of thousands of pensioners that could be claiming the benefit that aren't. According to the government, up to 880,000 pensioners are missing out on the cash boost, which is worth on average up to £3,900 per year.

The DWP is urging pensioners to check to see if they could be eligible for Pension Credit. If they are, they will also automatically get this year's Winter Fuel Payment - as long as they claim by a certain date.

Pensioners may be eligible for Pension Credit if their weekly income is below £218.15 for a single person or £332.95 for a couple. If a successful claim is made, the benefit can be backdated by up to three months.

To get the Winter Fuel Payment, you need to claim Pension Credit by December 21. That's because you need to be in receipt of the qualifying benefit during a certain timeframe to get the extra cash.

The qualifying week for the Winter Fuel Payment is September 16 to September 22. Pensioners need to be entitled to Pension Credit for at least one day during that week to be eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment this winter.

Because the benefit can be backdated for three months, if you claim by December 21, your claim will be backdated to September 22, meaning you qualify for the Winter Fuel Payment. People do not have to do anything extra to backdate their claim.