Do married pensioners both get the winter fuel payment?

Yahoo

2 days ago

The government's U-turn on the winter fuel payment will impact millions of pensioners - but how will it benefit those who are in a couple?
On Monday, chancellor Rachel Reeves reversed her controversial policy introduced last year to restrict the payment to only those on pension credit.
It means that nine million pensioners in England and Wales who have an annual income of £35,000 or less will be eligible for a winter fuel payment.
Yahoo News examines how the payment will work this winter, who will receive it and how much they can expect to get if they are married.
Normally paid in November or December, the winter fuel payment was previously paid to all pensioners to help them with their energy bills during the coldest periods of the year.
However, after the Labour government came to power in July 2024, the chancellor announced that the payment would only be received by pensioners on low incomes who received benefits such as pension credit.
The move meant that more than 10 million pensioners didn't receive a winter fuel payment at the end of last year, and was believed to have contributed heavily to Labour's losses in May's local elections.
The payment is £300 for homes that include someone aged 80 or over and it is £200 for households including someone between state pension age and 79.
To be eligible for the winter fuel allowance, a person will need to have reached the state pension age of 66 by the week starting 15 September this year.
The changes announced on Monday by Reeves mean that pensioners with an annual income of £35,000 or less are eligible, a total of about nine million people.
The winter fuel payment will be automatically given to all pensioners, but those with incomes of £35,000 and above - about two million people - will have it recovered through their PAYE or their self-assessment tax form, or they will be given the opportunity to opt out of receiving the payment in the first place.
The allowance is paid per household, not to individuals, meaning that an eligible couple will have to share the payment if they are not receiving an income related benefit such as pension credit.
An eligible couple made up of two pensioners who are both under 80 will be given a winter fuel payment of £100 each, for a total of £200.
If both members of the couple are 80 or over, they will receive £150 each, or £300. If one member of the couple is 80 or over and their partner is under 80, they will again receive a total of £300, but the older person will get £200 and the other will receive £100.
If one member of the couple living together has an income above £35,000 while the other earns less, the higher income pensioner will have their payment clawed back while the lower income pensioner will receive half the payment, either £100 or £150 depending on whether they are under 80 or not.
Because the thresholds are based on individual incomes, yes, there could be some slightly odd scenarios, as a household with someone with a six-figure income will still receive a payment if their partner receives £35,000 or less. Meanwhile, a couple who each earn slightly more than that level will not be eligible.
This was pointed out by Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), who posted on X: "WFP [winter fuel payment] will now be paid at £100 to each member of a couple. So rich pensioner couples, where one has say £100k and the other £30k, will still get £100.
"If both members of the couple have £36k then they get nothing. Messy."