Need to opt out of Winter Fuel Payments? Here’s how

To misquote the King James Bible, ‘The GOVERNMENT gave, and the GOVERNMENT hath taken away; blessed be the name of the GOVERNMENT.’ This certainly seems to be the case with the Winter Fuel Payment debacle. Although the government has now decided to make payments to all pensioners in England in Wales, it will claw back the money from many of them. For this reason, you may wish to opt out of Winter Fuel Payments in the first place. This blog looks at how and why you might do this.

Who will get the Winter Fuel Allowance?

Firstly, this article is exclusively about Winter Fuel Payments in England and Wales. If you live in Scotland, you can find out about the Scottish Government scheme here. Similarly, there’s more about the scheme in Northern Ireland here.

If you live in England and Wales, things are rather more complex. In 2024, the government decided to restrict Winter Fuel Payments to pensioners receiving certain benefits.

After a long backlash, the government did a handbrake turn and announced a major policy reversal. All pensioners in England and Wales could now receive the Winter Fuel Payment for 2025.

What’s the catch?

While all pensioners in England and Wales could get the payment, government has said it will take it back again from some people. This will be done either by changing your tax code for the 2026/27 tax year, or by adding the amount to your 2025/26 Self-Assessment Tax Return.

The only people who will be able to hang on to the Winter Fuel Payment are those who were eligible in the first place.

Who’s now eligible for Winter Fuel Payments?

Firstly, if your income is over £35,000 per year, you’re not eligible and HMRC will take the payment back unless you opt out of receiving it.

The amount you get otherwise depends when you were born and your circumstances between 15th and 21st September 2025. This is known as ‘qualifying week’.

You can check out the full eligibility criteria here, and work out how much you’ll get (or won’t) by consulting this page. That said, it’s much simpler to work out whether you’re eligible and how much you’ll get by using this online calculator.

I’m not eligible. What next?

If you’re not eligible for Winter Fuel Payments and you receive one, you’ll have to pay it back via your tax code or via Self-Assessment. However, if this seems too much of a hassle, you can opt out of Winter Fuel Payments altogether.

The easiest way to do this is via an online opt-out form. You can also write to or call HMRC, although this must be done before 15th September 2025. Given HMRC phone lines are always very busy, we’d recommend opting out online if you can.

A quick word of warning

Mass payouts of government funds always attract scammers, and the Winter Fuel Payment is no exception. If you get a text or other message asking you to apply for the payment, ignore it. In almost all cases, you’ll get the payment automatically. If you’re not eligible for it, it’s simply up to you to opt out or pay it back via the tax system.