Cold Weather Payment, Winter Fuel Payment and Fuel Direct

There are several government schemes that can help you pay your energy bills, particularly in the colder winter months. 

These include:

• The Winter Fuel Payment for pensioners - available for winter 2026-27 for pensioners in England, Wales and Northern Ireland who have a taxable annual income of £35,000 or less.
• The Cold Weather Payment - available to people in England, Wales and Northern Ireland who are getting certain benefits or Support for Mortgage Interest.
• The Winter Heating Payment - available to eligible people living in Scotland. 

Here, we round up the available schemes, what you could get for the 2026-27 tax year, and how to find out if you qualify for them.

You may also qualify for a £150 annual credit to your electricity account through the Warm Home Discount. See the eligibility criteria in our guide to the Warm Home Discount. 

Cold Weather Payment

Cold Weather Payments are made to some households in England and Wales to help pay for extra heating when it's very cold.

If you live in Scotland you can't get Cold Weather Payments. But you might be able to get a £62 Winter Heating Payment instead (scroll down to find out more).

If you qualify, Cold Weather Payments are paid when the average temperature where you live is recorded as (or forecast to be) 0°C or below for seven days in a row. 

You'll get £25 for each seven-day period with those temperatures between 1 November and 31 March. 

Who is eligible for Cold Weather Payments?

You may be eligible for Cold Weather Payments if you receive any of the following: 

• Pension Credit
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Universal Credit
• Support for Mortgage Interest.

You'll usually get Cold Weather Payments if you get Pension Credit. If you get the other benefits listed above, you might also need to meet other criteria, for example having a child under five, a disabled child, a disability or pensioner premium.

If you meet the criteria, you'll usually get Cold Weather Payments automatically - you don't need to apply. 

Tell Jobcentre Plus if you have a new baby or a child under five comes to live in your household, and you get Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) or income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). You may not receive Cold Weather Payments otherwise. 

The gov.uk website has a tool to find out if your area is due to receive the Cold Weather Payment. It's open from 1 November each year. If it is, and you qualify, you’ll be paid it automatically into the same bank account that receives your benefits, within 14 days of the cold spell.

Winter Fuel Payment

The Winter Fuel Payment is a £100-£300 annual payment for pensioners to help pay for your gas or electric heating in winter. It's tax-free and also known as the Winter Fuel Allowance. 

Your eligibility depends on your income.  

To qualify in 2026, the following must apply:

1. You were born on or before 27 June 1960 
2. You live in England, Wales or Northern Ireland
3. You have a taxable income of £35,000 or less.

Taxable income includes the state pension, workplace or personal pensions, earnings, and most interest from savings.

If you live in Scotland, you can't get a Winter Fuel Payment, but you might be eligible for the Pension Age Winter Heating payment.

Anyone who meets the eligibility requirements will receive the Winter Fuel Payment, and you don't need to apply for it.

How much Winter Fuel Payment will I get?

Here's how much Winter Fuel Payment you'll get if you qualify.

Sole applicants

If you live alone or no one you live with is eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment:

• £200 if you were born between 28 September 1946 and 27 June 1960
• £300 if you were born before 28 September 1946.

Joint applicants

If you live with someone else who also qualifies, the amount you receive will depend on whether you and/or your partner claim any of:

• Pension Credit
• Universal Credit
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)

If you jointly claim the benefits or you get any of the benefits but not jointly, you'll get:

• £200 if both of you were born between 28 September 1946 and 27 June 1960
• £300 if one or both of you were born before 28 September 1946.

If you don't get any of the benefits, you'll get £100-£200 depending on when you and the person you live with were born.

If you live with someone else who qualifies, only one of you will get the Winter Fuel Payment.

When will I receive the Winter Fuel Payment?

If you are entitled to the Winter Fuel Payment, you should get a letter in October or November saying how much you'll get. Most people are paid in November or December. If you haven't been paid by the end of January, contact the Winter Fuel Payment Centre.

You won't be eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment if you:

• Live outside of England, Wales or Northern Ireland (a different scheme is available in Scotland)
• Were in prison for the whole week of 21-27 September 2026
• Received free treatment in hospital for the whole week of 21 to 27 September 2026 and the year before that
• Need permission to enter the UK and your granted leave says that you cannot claim public funds
• Lived in a care home for the whole time from 29 June 2026 or earlier.

If you receive the Winter Fuel Payment, and your taxable income for the 2026-27 tax year exceeds the £35,000 threshold, HMRC will take the payment back via your tax code the following year, or through your self-assessment tax return. 

Read more about benefits and allowances for people who are over the state pension age in our guide to benefits for older people.

Winter Heating Payment

The Winter Heating Payment gives £62 this winter to qualifying households in Scotland to help with the costs of heating.

The eligibility requirements are the same as the Cold Weather Payment in England and Wales.

But it doesn't matter how cold it gets. You'll get the payment automatically if you qualify.

You can expect to get your payment between December and February. You'll get an email or letter from Social Security Scotland before it makes the payment.

If you think you're eligible but don't get a payment, send Social Security Scotland a request.

Pension Age Winter Heating Payment

The Pension Age Winter Heating Payment helps people of state pension age in Scotland pay their heating bills. If you're eligible, you could automatically get a payment of between £105.55 and £316.70.

To be eligible for the 2026 payment, you must earn £35,000 or less a year, have been born on, or before, 27 June 1960, and have lived in Scotland on at least the last day of the week from Monday 21 September to Sunday 27 September 2026.

As with the Winter Fuel Payment in England and Wales, certain criteria may render you ineligible, and if you earn more than £35,000 for the tax year, HMRC will reclaim your Pension Age Winter Heating Payment.

Fuel Direct 

You can pay off debt to organisations, including your energy supplier, directly from your benefits payments if you’re having difficulties keeping up with your bills.

These are sometimes called ‘third-party deductions’. The benefits you can use are:

• Universal Credit
• Income-related Employment Support Allowance
• Pension Credit.

Fuel Direct payments take a certain amount from your benefits each time they're paid until you've paid off the debt. 

The amount you’ll pay through deductions directly from your benefits depends on the benefits you're receiving. If you get Universal Credit, 5% if of it will be deducted from your benefit payment to go towards your energy debt. If you receive other benefits, £4.80 a week will be deducted.

While you're paying off debt through Fuel Direct, you can have extra money deducted to pay your ongoing bills.

You'll need to contact your energy supplier to set this up. It needs your consent. You should agree an amount with it that covers your bills.

You can stop making payments for ongoing bills this way at any time, or change the amount you pay. 

There's other help available if you're struggling to pay your energy bills.

Warm Homes Plan

Low or zero-interest loans to install low-carbon technology were announced by government in January 2026, as part of its Warm Homes Plan. 

All households will be able to apply and eligible technologies will include:

• solar panels
• heat pumps (both ground-source and air-source, including air-to-air)
• storage batteries.

Details on how to apply for the loans are expected to be released later this year.

Low-income homes will be able to apply for full financial support to install appropriate energy upgrades for their homes. 

Here's what we know so far about the Warm Homes Plan.

Other energy efficiency schemes

You might be able to get financial help for energy-saving home improvements through schemes that run in your area.

These can cover a range of energy efficiency measures including:

• Loft insulation costs and savings
• Cavity wall insulation
• New boilers and heating controls
• Boiler repairs 
• Window replacement (in Northern Ireland).

An assessor will usually visit your home to determine what's needed. 

To qualify, you'll often need to receive certain benefits and must either own your property or rent it privately. If you're renting, you need the owner's permission to do the work. 

If you're not sure what efficiency rating your home has, check its energy performance certificate. Alternatively, ask your landlord or housing association.

For more information on these schemes, and full eligibility criteria, contact the scheme operator in your part of the UK:

• Gov.uk (UK)
• Home Energy Scotland (Scotland): 0808 808 2282
• Nest (Wales): 0808 808 2244
• NIDirect (Northern Ireland)

Read more about ways to cut your energy bills and find out how to insulate your home.

Extra benefits

Depending on your personal and financial situation, you could be eligible for benefits to help you keep up with your bills and household expenses too. Check if you qualify for financial help through the benefits system using the gov.uk website.