UK Winter Fuel payments 2023

Daily Life, Swiss News and General Topics
1

Just a reminder if you own a house in the UK you may be eligible for this payment.

https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/237…upport-claims/

https://www.gov.uk/winter-fuel-payment

I haven’t looked at the forms to claim from abroad yet, but it looks like I might well be able to claim if I don’t get it automatically.

2
I have been able to claim UK Winter Fuel payments since the scheme was introduced.

I have never claimed as I think it’s an absurd example of socialism gone bonkers...

3
"If you were born before 25 September 1957"

I'll sue them, these ageist barstewards!

4
You don’t need to own a house in the UK to be eligible for this.

If you were born before 1957 and live in one if the eligible countries (which applies to Switzerland) then you are entitled to claim it.

The eligible countries are generally places with cold winters comparable to or worse than the UK. Retirees in warmer climes such as Spain, Greece etc are not eligible to claim this allowance.

5
Does that mean that I am allowed to claim a winter allowance for my heating bills here?

6

Interesting - and weird.

7
It’s nothing new, it’s been the case for years. I’m pretty sure it’s been mentioned on here before.

If you have a uk state pension and were born before September 25th 1957 then yes you are.

8
I am not sure why this is socialism gone made apart from the fact that it is not means tested. It is a genuine further help for pensioners.

As far as I can gather.

One is not eligible if not resident in the UK for a specified week in September.

Receiving a UK state pension is not a must - the sources are conflicting.

I am surprised that post Brexit, payments are still paid to the EU and Switzerland - must be part of some reciprocal agreement.

9
Where on earth did you get that from? There are certain specific criteria relating to that week in September but they only apply to a few people.

10
When I lived in the UK I paid so much in taxes that now I welcome any opportunity to get some money back.

11
No means test? They have something similar in Ireland, but it is only for residents and you must meet the low income criteria.

12

Not as such. There are a few reasons why you might not qualify.

" When you will not be eligible
You will not be eligible if you:

have been in hospital getting free treatment for more than a year
need permission to enter the UK and your granted leave says that you cannot claim public funds
were in prison for the whole of the week of 18 to 24 September 2023

If you live in a care home
You can get Winter Fuel Payment if you live in a care home. You will not be eligible if both of the following apply:

you get Pension Credit, Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) or income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
you lived in a care home for the whole time from 26 June to 24 September 2023"

And also under the Living Abroad section:

"You’ll also need to say whether during the qualifying week of 18 to 24 September 2023 you were:

in hospital getting free in-patient treatment
in a residential care home or Ilford Park Resettlement Home
in prison"

But that seems to be it. Can vary depending on whether one or more people are claiming.

https://www.gov.uk/winter-fuel-payme…much-youll-get

13
If you can get a definitive answer from the various relevant sites including the ones given in the original post you are doing better than me.

Suffice to say that I would neither expect, nor apply for such a payment.

14
What's special about the specific week in prison? Or a care home?

Is there something magical about that week?

15
We have two sets of friends, one here and one in Belgium and they both get it automatically every year and one couple hasn’t set foot in the uk for years.

You only have to apply for it once and it gets paid automatically every year thereafter.

I don’t find the information on the sites to be confusing at all.

I was wondering the same thing, it seems as though the just plucked arbitrary dates out of thin air.

16
Sounds rather unlikely. What happens when you die? Have they given correct information?

Not confusing?

Do you need to be receiving a UK pension or not? No clear answer - if not, what are the exact criteria

Residence in the UK for one week in September or not? Will being on holiday count?

17

Maybe look at the links.

18
If you’re receiving a uk pension you have to sign a form every year and get it witnessed by an official body to confirm that you are indeed still alive.

You need to be in receipt of state benefits and the majority of people benefitting from the payments are uk state pension recipients.

No requirement for the one week residence in September except in a very few specific cases.

I don’t know what’s so hard to understand.

19

Has anyone filled in the forms to claim? I’m just doing mine and I’m a bit confused about a couple of questions on the EU Exit Withdrawal form.

Question 14 is: Did you join family in the country you named in Question 5 - yes/no.

Question 15 is: Did any family move with you to the country you named in Question 5 - yes/no.

Re Question 14 is this meaning joining family who’ve been in said country for a long time? Because husband moved over 3 months before me because of his job so technically I did join him because he was already here. But doesn’t that make Question 15 irrelevant? He moved with me as I moved with him, but just at slightly different times.

20
I think question 15 probably relates to children or other relatives who may have moved here with you when you joined the person from question 14.