Winter Fuel Payment

Skip contents

If you live abroad

If you do not live in the UK, you’re only eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment if:

  • you were born before 23 September 1958
  • you get UK State Pension
  • 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
  • the UK is responsible for paying your benefits
  • you moved to an eligible country before 31 December 2020 and are covered by the Withdrawal Agreement

If you are a British or Irish national living in Ireland, you do not need to have moved by 31 December 2020, but you will need to meet all of the other eligibility rules.

You must also be getting a qualifying means-tested benefit from the country you live in that is equivalent to:

  • Pension Credit
  • Universal Credit
  • income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
  • income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
  • Income Support
  • Working Tax Credit
  • Child Tax Credit

You’ll need to have been getting this benefit during the qualifying week of 16 to 22 September 2024

You must live in an eligible EEA country or Switzerland to get a Winter Fuel Payment.

Eligible countries

  • Austria
  • Belgium
  • Bulgaria
  • Croatia
  • Czech Republic
  • Denmark
  • Estonia
  • Finland
  • Germany
  • Hungary
  • Iceland
  • Ireland
  • Italy
  • Latvia
  • Liechtenstein
  • Lithuania
  • Luxembourg
  • Netherlands
  • Norway
  • Poland
  • Romania
  • Slovakia
  • Slovenia
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland

How to claim

You can claim Winter Fuel Payment by:

  • post - from 30 September 2024
  • phone - from 28 October 2024

The deadline for you to make a claim for winter 2024 to 2025 is 31 March 2025.

When you make a claim, you’ll need to provide evidence of the means-tested benefit you are getting (from the country you live in).

Claim by post

You will need to claim Winter Fuel Payment even if you have got it before. The payment is not made automatically.

Download and fill in form IPCF091, if you’re a UK national or UK dual national living in an eligible country other than Ireland.

If you’ve not claimed Winter Fuel Payment before, you’ll also need to fill in a Winter Fuel Payment claim form. 

If you got a Winter Fuel Payment before, you will need to provide evidence of the means-tested benefit you are getting (from the country you live in) in the Winter Fuel Payment additional information form.

Download the forms.

Send your completed forms to the following address.

Winter Fuel Payment Centre
Mail Handling Site A
Wolverhampton
WV98 1ZU
UK

Claim by phone

Call the Winter Fuel Payment Centre to claim by phone.

Winter Fuel Payment Centre
Email enquiry form
Telephone: +44 (0)191 218 7777
Textphone: contact Relay UK on +44 (0)151 494 2022 then 0800 731 0160
British Sign Language (BSL) video relay service if you’re on a computer - find out how to use the service on mobile or tablet
Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm
Find out about call charges

What to prepare before you call

Before you call, you will need to know:

  • your National Insurance number
  • your bank or building society details
  • your BIC and IBAN numbers
  • the date you were married or entered into a civil partnership (if appropriate)

Payments cannot be made into a National Savings and Investments (NS&I) account unless you already get other benefits paid into the account.

You’ll also need to say whether during the qualifying week of 16 to 22 September 2024 you were:

  • in hospital getting free in-patient treatment
  • in a residential care home
  • in prison

If you disagree with a decision

You can challenge a decision about your claim. This is called asking for mandatory reconsideration.

View a printable version of the whole guide

Related content