New Winter Fuel Payment rules for pensioners who are in a couple confirmed
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed the rules for the Winter Fuel Payment for pensioners who are in a couple and living together - experts have explained all
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has clarified the regulations surrounding the Winter Fuel Payment for pensioners who are cohabiting as a couple. Nine million pensioners across England and Wales are set to receive the Winter Fuel Payment from the DWP this winter, following a government reversal announced on June 11.
This amendment ensures that eligible pensioners - those earning £35,000 or less - will receive either £200 or £300 this winter. This follows last year's reduction in payments when they were means-tested for the first time, with only those on specific benefits receiving the payment. This effectively lowered the income threshold to a mere £11,600.
Under the revised rules, all pensioners earning under £35,000 annually will automatically receive the payment this year, reports the Manchester Evening News.
Pensioners earning above this threshold will also receive the payment, but it will subsequently be reclaimed through tax. This implies that if someone earns over £35,000, their portion of the household payment will be recouped via the PAYE or self-assessment tax system.
Payments will be made per household, meaning a household with more than one pensioner will only receive one payment of up to £300. Therefore, for instance, two pensioners over the age of 80 residing in the same house will each receive £150.
Each individual's income is the deciding factor rather than collective household earnings. Hence, if one partner in a pensioner couple exceeds the income threshold, their segment of the payment will be recouped through the tax system; however, the other half will retain theirs, provided their personal income remains under the threshold.
Financial expert Martin Lewis has acknowledged this as a "good system compared to what we thought was going to happen", having been initially under the impression that the cut-off would depend on the higher earner's income.
Generally, pensioner couples might split their payments, yet there exists an exception as noted by MoneySavingExpert.
They specify: "If you're a couple claiming Pension Credit, there's no split. You'll get £200 or £300 (if one of you is 80+) in one lump sum.
"And the clawback will not affect you, as if you earned enough for the clawback to apply, you wouldn't be eligible for Pension Credit in the first place."
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Sarah Coles from the wealth manager Hargreaves Lansdown said: 'Just because you live alone, it doesn't mean your bills are halved. This is yet another example of the dreaded singles tax, which we also see with broadband and food bills.' • What is the winter fuel payment and who will get it in 2025? Who gets what Under the latest winter fuel payment rules, couples living together get £100 each. If one partner earns more than £35,000, they will share the £200 payment, but half of it will be recouped from the higher earner by HMRC, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said. This means they end up with £100 between them. The money will either be deducted through a self-assessment tax return, or automatically through pay as you earn (PAYE), for those who are still working, or who have a company pension or annuity. It's not just earnings that affect how much you get — age does too. If one partner in a couple is over 80, they get £200, and their partner £100. 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The new state pension for those who reached state pension age after April 2016 is £11,973 a year. If state pension keeps rising but the winter fuel payment threshold does not, more pensioners will find themselves ineligible for the benefit. The pensions minister Torsten Bell said £35,000 was 'a round number, and we do not intend to change it in the years ahead'. He added: 'Further in the future, yes, there will be questions about uprating, which will be considered in the normal way.' Bereaved pensioners who inherit their spouse's pension income are also at risk of losing their winter fuel payment in the future. This is likely to affect those who inherit an annuity or older defined benefit pension, which may include death benefits that pay a reduced income to the surviving spouse. Coles said: 'If the partner with the larger pension dies, half of their pension income might go to their spouse. 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