Today is the last day that pensioner households will be able to claim up to £300 off their energy bills under the Winter Fuel payment scheme. The benefits offers between £100 and £300 for eligible households to help pay for heating bills during the coldest months of the year.
While the payments are meant to be made automatically between November and Decemner, you can claim the cash if you believe you are in an eligible household and are yet to receive the payment. But be quick as the deadline is midnight tonight (March 31).
In order to be considered for the payment, you must be born on or before Sptember 26, 1995 and have lived in the UK for at least one day between September 20 and 26, 2021. You also need to be receiving either the state pension or another social security benefit (excluding Housing Benefit, Council Tax Reduction, Child Benefit or Universal Credit), the Mirror reports.
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The factors of your situation will dictate how much money you get - this can also be affected by age. For those born between September 27, 1941 and September 26, 1955:
- You get £200 if you live alone, or if no-one else you live with qualifies for Winter Fuel Payment
- You get £100 if you live with someone who does qualify
- You get £100 if you live in a care home and do not get the benefits listed above
For people born on or before September 26, 1941, how much you get depends on who you live with:
- You get £300 if you live alone, or if no-one else you live with qualifies for Winter Fuel Payment
- You get £200 if you live with someone under the age of 80 who does qualify
- You get £150 if you live with someone over 80 who qualifies
- You get £150 if you live in a care home and do not get the above benefits.
How to claim Winter Fuel Payment
You are eligible to make a claim if you:
- You do not receive a state pension or other benefits
- You only receive Universal Credit, Housing Benefit, Child Benefit or council tax reduction
- You receive benefits or a state pension but live in Switzerland or a country in the EEA
You can make a claim over the phone by calling 0800 731 0160.
Make sure you have your National Insurance number on hand as well as bank details and marriage details, if you have been wedded. Call the Winter Fuel Payment Centre on 0800 731 0160, any time between 8am and 6pm Monday to Friday.
You can also make a claim by post by downloading, filling in and sending off this form .
Energy bills are due to rise for millions of Brits this year because of a price cap rising at midnight tonight.
The energy price cap for those on default tariffs who pay by direct debit is rising by £693 from £1,277 to £1,971 from April 1. Prepayment customers will see a bigger jump, with their price cap going up by £708, from £1,309 to £2,017.
Fuel poverty charity National Energy Action (NEA) warned the cost of heating an average home has now doubled in 18 months, leaving 6.5 million households unable to live in a warm, safe home across the UK.
NEA chief executive Adam Scorer said: “Quality of life for millions of people will plummet. Warm homes, cooked food, hot water, clean clothes – all cut back or cut out. Debt will spiral. Physical and mental health will suffer.
“This energy crisis is about to bite down hard on those least able to cope. Charities like NEA will try to pick up the pieces for those in greatest need. It will be a near impossible task.”
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has previously pledged to “take the sting out” of the price rises, promising all 28 million households in Britain would get a £200 up-front rebate on their energy bills from October.
The Government will provide the cash for this, but it wants the money back so will hike bills by £40 per year over the next five years from 2023 to recoup it.
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