Thousands of people could see Winter Fuel Allowance DOUBLE this year – are you eligible?

THOUSANDS of pensioners on low incomes are set to get extra cash to help them through the cost of living crisis.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced that those who usually get the Winter Fuel Payment will get an additional one-off payment of £300 to help tackle the cost of living crisis.

The payment will be made in November and will be a lifeline to thousands of pensioners on a low income.

The Winter Fuel Payment is a benefit paid once a year to older people in the UK with a limited income.

It is designed to help people cover the additional costs of heating their home over the winter months and is usually between £100 and £300.

But many people will receive DOUBLE this amount this year, thanks to the £300 of extra help being dished out by the government.

Here’s what you need to know:

You will get Winter Fuel Payment automatically (you do not need to claim) if you are eligible and either:

• get the State Pension
• get another social security benefit (not Housing Benefit, Council Tax Reduction, Child Benefit or Universal Credit)

If you do not get either of these, or if you live abroad, you may need to make a claim though.

This year, thousands of people will get additional help after Rishi Sunak announced his cost of living rescue plan.

You are eligible for a Winter Fuel Payment this year if:

• you were born on or before September, 26 1955
• you lived in the UK for at least one day during the week of 20 to 26 September 2021 – this is called the ‘qualifying week’

You may still be eligible if you lived in Switzerland or another EEA country in that period, but you won’t get the payment automatically and will have to apply.

It is the same if you can prove a sufficient link with the UK, like having lived and worked here, or having family here, but were not living here in the qualifying week.

You won’t get the payment if you live in the following countries though because of the warm weather there: Cyprus, France, Gibraltar, Greece, Malta, Portugal or Spain.

You won’t get the payment if you are in hospital for more than a year getting free treatment and in some other circumstances.

You can find more about when you’re not eligible on gov.uk.

The £300 boost will get to you in November or December this year, the government has confirmed.

For most pensioner households, this will be paid via a direct debit payment.

It will be added as a top up to your annual Winter Fuel Payment, which is paid around this time.

Payments will be made directly to households – so there’s no need to do anything.

It comes as the government revealed its Winter Fuel Payment rates for 2022/23, as below:

You qualify and live alone (or none of the people you live with qualify)

• Born between September 26, 1942 and September 25, 1956 – £500
• Born on or before September 25, 1942 – £600

You qualify and live with someone under 80 who also qualifies

• Born between September 26, 1942 and September 25, 1956 – £250
• Born on or before September 25, 1942 – £350

You qualify and live with someone 80 or over who also qualifies

• Born between September 26, 1942 and September 25, 1956 – £250
• Born on or before September 25, 1942 – £300

You qualify and live with someone who gets certain benefits

• Born between September 26, 1942 and September 25, 1956 – £500 (only one of you will get a payment)
• Born on or before September 25, 1942 – £600 (only one of you will get the payment)

Qualifying benefits include: Pension Credit, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) or Income Support.

You qualify, live in a care home and do not get certain benefits

• Born between September 26, 1942 and September 25, 1956 – £250
• Born on or before September 25, 1942 – £300

Qualifying benefits include: Pension Credit, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) or Income Support.

Who won’t get the payment?

Those who are born on September 26, 1956, or later, you will not be in line for the additional £300 payment from the government, nor the Winter Fuel Payment.

To be eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment, you also have to have lived in the UK for at least one day during the “qualifying week”, which is the week starting from the third Monday in September.

So if you have not, you will not be eligible.

If you think you are eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment but have not heard anything from the Department for Work and Pensions, you can make a direct claim.

You can call the Winter Fuel Payment helpline on 0800 731 0160.