The winter fuel payment is worth between £200 and £300 per household for the Winter Fuel Payment, with £300 going to households where someone is 80 or over
People will have to wait an extra year for the winter fuel payment from 2026 due to state pension age changes(Image: Getty Images)
An expert has warned that due to a change in the pension age, individuals born after a certain date will be ineligible for next year’s £300 winter fuel payment. Paul Lewis, a regular on Radio 4’s Money Box programme, explained that people born just a day later than the cut-off will miss out on the payment.
This year, Chancellor Rachel Reeves reinstated the benefit for over 9 million pensioners. For the winter period of 2025 to 2026, pensioners in England and Wales can expect to receive between £200 and £300 per household as part of the Winter Fuel Payment, with those aged 80 or above receiving £300.
The payment is automatic for most, depending on your age and living situation, and you will receive a letter detailing the amount. However, if your income exceeds £35,000, the payment will be recouped through your tax.
However, from next year, anyone born on or after 6 April 1960 will not receive their state pension at 66. Instead, they will have to wait up to an additional 12 months after their birthday to qualify, potentially costing them up to £12,849 in lost state pension.
This delay will also affect eligibility for many other benefits, including the winter fuel payment, reports the Express.
Mr Lewis outlined on his blog that this means anyone born after 27 June 1960 will also be excluded from the winter fuel payment for 12 months. He stated: “Winter Fuel Payment is only paid to those who reach state pension age in the qualifying week in September. For winter 2026 the last date to qualify is expected to be 27 September 2026 which will include people born 27 June 1960 or earlier who will be 66 and 3 months.
“In winter 2027 people born 26 December 1960 or earlier aged 66 and 9 months will qualify. The same rules currently apply to the Pension Age Winter Heating Payment in Scotland.”
Mr Lewis highlighted that the pension age increase next April will particularly impact one specific age group. The State Pension age is set to rise from 66 to 67 between April 2026 and March 2028.
This modification, established by the Pensions Act 2014, affects people born from 6 April 1960 onwards. The exact date you will reach the new State Pension age varies according to your individual date of birth, with the increase being introduced progressively over this two-year timeframe.
In his blog, Mr Lewis clarified that anyone born after this date would lose out: “Anyone born 6 April 1960 or later will not get their state pension at 66. They will have to wait up to 12 months after that birthday to qualify, costing them up to £12,849 in lost state pension.
“The rise in state pension age will happen in stages linked only to date of birth. It will be identical for men and women and apply throughout the UK.”
He revealed that his calculations demonstrate that individuals born on 6 April 1960 or later lose out by £12,849 due to receiving their pensions at a later date. He clarified: “The actual loss for any individual will depend on the day of the week which is their payday. That is a weekday from Monday to Friday and depends on their National Insurance number.
“The loss assumes the individual gets a full New State Pension and assumes that will be £241.05 from 6 April 2026 and £247.10, an increase of 2.5%, from 12 April 2027. The state pension is accumulated weekly so there are four or five weekly payments in a month which accounts for the difference between the minimum and maximum losses. No account is taken of the up to six days pension that is paid between the birthday and the first payday.”
The Pensions Act 2014 accelerated the rise in the State Pension age from 66 to 67 by eight years. The UK Government also adjusted the phasing of the State Pension age rise, meaning that rather than reaching State Pension age on a particular date, those born between 6 March 1961, and 5 April 1977, will become eligible to claim the State Pension upon turning 67.
Specialists warn that individuals must prepare for these alterations to avoid financial shock. Everyone impacted by modifications to their State Pension age will receive correspondence from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
Chancellor Rachel Reeves last month suggested a review, which could potentially lead to a further increase in the retirement age, is necessary to ensure the system remains “sustainable and affordable”. The Government’s review is set to report in March 2029, and Ms Reeves believes it’s “right” to reassess the age at which individuals can start receiving the state pension as life expectancy continues to rise.
The current state pension age is 66, due to increase to 67 by 2028, and the Government is legally obliged to review this age periodically.
Speaking to journalists, the Chancellor said: “We have just commissioned a review of pensions adequacy, so whether people are saving enough for retirement, and also the state pension age. As life expectancy increases it is right to look at the state pension age to ensure that the state pension is sustainable and affordable for generations to come.
“That’s why we have asked a very experienced set of experts to look at all the evidence.”
