Winter Fuel Payment, Cold Weather Payment and Warm Home Discount

There are three official payments that help UK households with winter heating costs, and each works differently. The Cold Weather Payment gives £25 for every seven-day spell of very cold weather to people on certain benefits¹. The Winter Fuel Payment is a lump sum of between £100 and £300 for people who have reached State Pension age¹. The Warm Home Discount takes £150 off your electricity bill for eligible older and low-income households¹.

Two of the three are paid automatically, which means many households receive money without claiming. The Cold Weather Payment arrives after each qualifying cold spell if you are on the right benefits², and the Winter Fuel Payment is made automatically to eligible people who have reached State Pension age³. The Warm Home Discount is the one that needs your attention, because your energy supplier has to participate in the scheme and there are a limited number of discounts each winter⁴.

This page sets out what each payment is worth, who qualifies, when the money arrives and what to do if it does not. It also covers the different schemes in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and the local crisis funds that help when you cannot afford heating oil, food or energy bills at all.

Cold Weather Payment: £25 for each seven days at zero degrees or below

The Cold Weather Payment is a government scheme that gives eligible people £25 for every seven days the temperature is zero degrees celsius or below⁴. The trigger is precise: the payment becomes payable if the average temperature in your area is recorded as, or forecast to be, zero degrees celsius or below for seven consecutive days⁸. A single cold night does not count, and neither does a run of six days. The temperature is measured against a set level for your area over a full week, and only then does the payment trigger⁹.

The payment is £25 for each seven-day period of very cold weather occurring during the scheme period of 1 November and 31 March⁸. If a cold spell lasts a fortnight, that is two payments. If cold weather returns in January after a mild December, each separate qualifying period is paid separately. The scheme for 2026/27 starts on 1 November 2026¹⁰, so the first possible payments of this winter fall in November if a sufficiently long freeze arrives early.

Because the payment follows the weather rather than a claim, you do not need to watch the forecast and apply each time. Payments are automatic, so if you are on a qualifying benefit when a cold spell hits, the money should reach you without any action on your part³. What matters for your household is being on a qualifying benefit when the cold spell happens.

Who gets a Cold Weather Payment

Cold Weather Payments go to households in receipt of certain benefits or the Support for Mortgage Interest scheme⁸. NHS guidance puts it plainly: you may get £25 when the weather is very cold for seven days in a row if you get certain benefits, and these payments are automatic². The benefit is the gateway, so a household on a qualifying benefit receives the payment during a cold spell while an identical household next door on a different income does not.

There are two further routes worth knowing. Cold Weather Payments may be available to you if you receive certain benefits or have a child who is disabled or under the age of five⁷. That means some working-age families with young children qualify alongside pensioners and people on disability benefits. If you are not sure whether your benefit is one of those that counts, you can check your eligibility using a benefit calculator⁴.

The people most likely to be eligible are the same groups official guidance identifies as at greater risk in cold weather: people on a low income¹¹, including those who cannot afford to keep warm enough during the winter months¹². If you have recently moved onto a qualifying benefit, the payments should follow, but check that your claim record shows the correct address, since the payment is tied to the temperature recorded in your area.

Automatic payments between 1 November and 31 March

The Cold Weather Payment scheme runs between 1 November and 31 March¹. Within that window, everything is automatic: if you qualify, it should be paid automatically and it does not affect your other benefits⁴. There is no form to fill in for each cold spell and no need to report the weather yourself.

The practical steps are therefore about checking rather than claiming:

1. Confirm you are receiving a qualifying benefit before the season starts on 1 November⁸.
2. Check your eligibility using a benefit calculator if you are unsure which benefits count⁴.
3. Watch your bank account after any week of severe cold, since payments follow qualifying periods rather than a set date².
4. If a payment you expected does not arrive, contact Jobcentre Plus, or use the official Cold Weather Payment pages on gov.uk⁷.

Payments are not instant. They follow the end of each qualifying seven-day period, and a forecast-based trigger means the payment can begin before the cold weather has fully finished. If you believe a cold spell qualified in your area and nothing has arrived, Jobcentre Plus is the contact point, and you can find your nearest office in the phonebook⁷.

Winter Fuel Payment: £100 to £300 for people over State Pension age

The Winter Fuel Payment is a lump sum of between £100 and £300 for people over pension credit qualifying age¹³. For winter 2025 to 2026, you could get between £100 and £300 to help you pay your heating bills¹. The standard figures are £200 for eligible households, or £300 for eligible households with someone aged 80 and over⁵. Age UK's guidance gives the fuller picture: your household receives £200 if at least one qualifying person is aged between State Pension age and 79, and £300 if at least one qualifying person is aged 80 or above¹⁰.

Where two people in the same household both qualify, the money is split. The payment is £100 if you qualify and live with someone under 80 who also qualifies, and £100 if you live with someone 80 or over while you are aged between State Pension age and 79¹⁰. The table below sets out the main amounts.

The payment is made automatically to eligible people who have reached State Pension age³. Any money you get is tax-free and will not affect your other benefits⁵. In Northern Ireland, the payment is also automatic, and nidirect is where the entitlement is checked; if you qualify there, you can use the money to buy "Stay Warm" oil savings stamps¹⁴.

There are situations where no payment is made. You do not qualify if, during the qualifying week, you live in a care home for the whole time from 29 June to 27 September 2026 and receive Pension Credit or Universal Credit, are a prisoner, have been in hospital for more than 52 weeks before the start of the qualifying week, or are subject to immigration control¹⁰. The qualifying week for winter 2024/25 was 16 to 22 September 2024, when you needed to have been getting the qualifying benefit⁵.

The income rules and opting out

Winter Fuel Payment eligibility now depends on receiving a qualifying benefit such as Pension Credit, checked during a qualifying week in September⁵. You must live in England and Wales in the qualifying week to receive a payment, and people living in the European Economic Area are no longer eligible¹⁰. This is a significant change from earlier winters, when the payment went to most people over State Pension age regardless of income.

If you do not want the payment, you can opt out by notifying the Department for Work and Pensions before 21 September 2026. If you change your mind afterwards, you can claim by 31 March 2027¹⁰. Opting out is a personal choice some households make, but note that the money is tax-free and does not affect other benefits⁵, so taking it carries no downside for your other entitlements.

If you think you qualified and nothing arrived, you can still make a claim. Age UK has urged older people to claim help with heating costs when payments have gone missing, and the claim deadline for a winter is 31 March¹⁵. A late claim matters most if you have recently started receiving Pension Credit or another qualifying benefit and the automatic system has not yet caught up with your change in circumstances.

Warm Home Discount: £150 off your electricity bill

The Warm Home Discount gives eligible older and low-income consumers £150 off their energy bill¹⁶. It is a one-off discount applied to electricity bills between October and March⁸. If you are eligible, you could get £150 off your electricity bill in winter under the Warm Home Discount Scheme¹⁷, and most people get it automatically². The scheme was introduced in 2011 to tackle fuel poverty⁵, and the government has confirmed its continuation for a new five-year period, up to the scheme year 2030/31¹⁰.

Eligibility works through two core groups. You are eligible under Core Group 1 if you receive the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit. You are eligible under Core Group 2 if you receive a qualifying means-tested benefit and are living in a property that has a high relative cost to heat⁵. The Core Group 2 test matters because two households on the same benefit can be treated differently: the property's heating cost, not just your income, decides it.

Eligibility is checked on a single qualifying date rather than continuously. For winter 2024/25, if you met the eligibility criteria on the qualifying date of 11 August 2024, you received the discount⁵. That means a change of circumstances in, say, November does not bring a discount that winter, even if you would have qualified had the check come later.

When your supplier is not in the scheme

Your energy supplier needs to participate in the scheme for you to get the discount, and if you are on a low income you may qualify⁴. Not every supplier takes part, so a household that qualifies under the rules can still miss out simply because of who sells them electricity. There are a limited number of discounts each winter⁴, which is another reason to act early rather than wait for the cold weather.

Contact your energy supplier as soon as possible; your supplier can tell you how to apply⁴. Claim by contacting your energy company¹³. For Core Group queries, the Warm Home Discount Helpline telephone line has now closed, but you can contact the scheme administrators by letter at Warm Home Discount Scheme, PO Box 14127, Selkirk, TD7 9AH⁵.

One point on where the money lands: the discount is normally applied to your electricity bill, but a discount can be applied to the gas bill instead if the supplier provides both gas and electricity to the household⁸.

Help if you cannot afford heating oil, food or energy bills

The three payments above are the national schemes, but they are not the last resort. If you are unable to pay your bill, contact your supplier and let them know¹⁸. Suppliers have arrangements for households in difficulty, and telling them early is better than falling into arrears first.

If you cannot afford to heat your home or buy food, contact Citizens Advice as soon as possible; they can help you access emergency support and check your benefits entitlement⁹. Citizens Advice also holds information about Winter Fuel Payments and Cold Weather Payments and help with energy bills¹⁹. Local support exists alongside this: you may be eligible for help with energy bills, or free improvements to your heating or insulation, particularly if you are vulnerable to the cold²⁰.

For heating oil households, there is now a dedicated route. The Crisis and Resilience Fund provides one-off support for essential costs to households that have no other way to pay for what they need²¹. Somerset's version shows how the criteria work: you may be eligible if you live in the county, use heating oil as your main heating source, have less than 300 litres of oil remaining, are at risk of being unable to heat your home or access hot water, and receive Universal Credit or Pension Credit or can show you cannot afford a delivery⁹. Savings between £3,000 and £10,000 are allowed, with your need and situation assessed to establish whether using those savings would lead to financial hardship in the near future⁹. You will need to provide evidence that you meet the criteria⁹.

Other local routes include:

• Local Welfare Assistance: for households struggling to afford the basics, such as food, heating, clothing and fuel, or to pay household bills²².
• Warm and Well schemes: in Cornwall, for example, advice, support, grants or discounts on your energy bill are available to help you stay warm, including for people living in a cold or damp home or without central heating²³.
• Warm spaces: many communities run warm hubs during winter, and our page on warm spaces and warm hubs explains how to find one near you.

If you rely on heating oil generally, our guides on heating oil tanks and the Cold Weather Priority Scheme cover keeping a supply through winter and getting priority delivery in a freeze.

Where the rules differ in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

The three payments are UK-wide in name but not in practice, and the differences matter if you live outside England.

Scotland. A new benefit, the Winter Heating Payment, has replaced the Cold Weather Payment in Scotland²⁴. Unlike the Cold Weather Payment, it is not triggered by seven-day cold spells, so Scottish households on qualifying benefits receive a winter heating payment regardless of how mild the weather turns out to be. Check mygov.scot for the current amount and qualifying benefits.

Wales. The Cold Weather Payment itself operates in Wales on the same £25 basis as England. Department for Work and Pensions estimates for the period November 2020 to March 2021 put 223,000 people living in Wales as eligible for payments under the scheme, of whom 87,000 were in receipt of Pension Credit⁸. Wales also runs its own support: the Discretionary Assistance Fund makes Emergency Assistance Payments as a non-repayable grant to help with essential costs for people in a crisis situation and in need of immediate financial support⁸. The fund can help people experiencing severe financial hardship to meet the cost of food, gas and electricity, boiler repairs and oil and liquid gas purchases, and runs October to March annually⁸. Emergency assistance payments of up to £120 can be authorised, subject to meeting certain eligibility criteria⁸, and a pilot scheme in 2020-21 provided emergency assistance payments of up to £175 to purchase oil and liquid gas for off-grid households⁸. From 1 April 2023, all applicants are eligible for three payments in a 12-month rolling period⁵. Wales has also run its own Winter Fuel Support Scheme, providing households where one member receives certain welfare benefits with a one-off payment of £100⁸.

Northern Ireland. The Winter Fuel Payment is made automatically to eligible people who have reached State Pension age, and nidirect is the official source for checking entitlement³. If you qualify, you can use the money to buy "Stay Warm" oil savings stamps, a scheme run for households that heat with oil¹⁴. Cold Weather Payments operate in Northern Ireland on the same trigger and amount as elsewhere in the UK².

Warm Home Discount. The scheme's published eligibility rules apply to England and Wales only⁵. Households in Scotland and Northern Ireland should check with their supplier and their own nation's official advice pages, since the arrangements differ.

Who is most at risk, and where to turn

The payments exist because cold homes harm health, and official guidance is consistent about who is most at risk. People aged 65 and older, babies and children under the age of five, people on a low income who cannot afford heating, people who have a long-term health condition, people with a disability, pregnant women and people with a mental health condition are all identified as more vulnerable to the effects of cold weather²⁵. NHS guidance adds people with long-term conditions such as heart, lung or kidney disease²⁶. Cold weather vulnerability also includes people who have chronic medical conditions, those living with learning or physical disabilities, and those who cannot afford to keep warm enough during the winter months¹².

If you are in one of these groups, the practical order is: make sure you are on the qualifying benefits (a benefit calculator does this⁴), confirm your supplier is in the Warm Home Discount scheme⁴, and know your local crisis fund before you need it²². Support is available if you are struggling with the cost of heating²⁷, and asking early is easier than asking in a crisis. Our page on extra help in an emergency covers the wider support for older, disabled and medically dependent households, and keeping one room warm explains how to make the money you do have go further.