Official Statistics

Winter Fuel Payment statistics for winter 2024 to 2025

Published 16 September 2025

Applies to England and Wales

This bulletin provides a summary of the annual Winter Fuel Payment (WFP) statistics for winter 2024 to 2025 at recipient and beneficiary level. The release covers statistics for residents of England and Wales and any eligible residents of the European Economic Area (EEA) countries together with Switzerland.

Notices

This release covers recipient (claimant) and beneficiary (claimant and any eligible partner) level statistics for winter 2024 to 2025. The eligibility criteria for winter 2024 to 2025 is listed on the government web archive.

WFP statistics are designated as Official Statistics.

In July 2024, the government announced changes to the WFP policy which came into effect for winter 2024 to 2025. The eligibility criteria for winter 2024 to 2025 is listed on government web archive.

Previous annual releases and methodology have reported statistics on WFP for recipients and households.

Given the policy change, this release reports on two key metrics. Firstly, recipients (claimants) of WFP, and secondly on beneficiaries (recipients plus eligible pension age partners primarily of Pension Credit). This measure supports new statistics showing the proportion of the pensioner population who were beneficiaries of WFP in winter 2024 to 2025. Detailed information about changes to the publication can be found in the background, methodology and quality report.

The eligibility criteria has changed for the upcoming winter 2025 to 2026, however these statistics relate to winter 2024 to 2025.

1. Main stories

The headline statistics for winter 2024 to 2025, England and Wales are:

• the number of WFP recipients in winter 2024 to 2025 was 1.3 million, a decrease of 9.3 million since winter 2023 to 2024

• the number of WFP beneficiaries (recipients plus eligible pension age partners) in winter 2024 to 2025 was 1.4 million

• 13% of pensioners aged 66 and over were beneficiaries of a WFP in winter 2024 to 2025

• there is substantial variation across local areas in the proportion of pensioners aged 66 and over who were beneficiaries of a WFP, ranging from 5% in Hart to 49% in Tower Hamlets local authorities. This excludes the Isle of Scilly, where numbers are small

• there were negligible WFP recipients residing in eligible European Economic Area (EEA) countries or Switzerland

• of all WFP, 62% of recipients were paid £200 and 38% were paid £300

2. What you need to know

WFP were introduced in 1997 to help pension aged people pay their heating bills. It is an annual tax-free payment, to those eligible, to help meet the costs of heating their home in the winter. For winter 2024 to 2025 this payment was either £200 or £300.

These statistics were produced using an extract of the Seasonal Payment System taken on the 4 June 2025. Whilst most WFP are made in November or December, payments can extend throughout the year, and therefore these statistics will not include any (small number of) payments made after the 4 June 2025.

The data tables accompanying this release are published for recipients with breakdowns by amounts paid, age band and gender, and for beneficiaries and the proportion of the pensioner population who are beneficiaries of WFP, with additional breakdowns available by region, local authority and Westminster parliamentary constituency.

These statistics have – for the first time – also been made available through Stat-Xplore.

Further guidance on these statistics is provided in the about these statistics section of this bulletin and the background methodology and quality report. Guidance for the background quality and methodology of previous releases is available.

Methodology Changes (from winter 2024 to 2025)

Following changes to the WFP eligibility criteria, some changes have been made to the measures reported in these statistics to best reflect and provide context to these changes.

Recipients and Beneficiaries of WFP

In this release, metrics show both recipients and beneficiaries of WFP.

The beneficiary metric includes both recipients and eligible pension age partners of recipients, within the same household.

The updated background methodology and quality note details methodological changes to how these statistics have been derived.

The statistical release covers England and Wales

This statistical release covers England and Wales and any eligible EEA countries and Switzerland. Statistics for previous years covered Great Britain.

Northern Ireland publish their own WFP statistics.

For Winter 2024 to 2025 Scotland paid Pension Age Winter Heating Payment which replaced the WFP for people in Scotland but had equivalent eligibility rules.

3. WFP recipients

Recipients are the number of people recorded on the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Seasonal Payment System (SPS) who received a WFP.

Total number of recipients of a WFP

As WFP were linked to means-tested benefits in winter 2024 to 2025, the number of payments fell from 10.6 million in winter 2023 to 2024 to 1.3 million in winter 2024 to 2025 across England and Wales.

Figure 1: Winter Fuel Payment recipients (millions) from winter 2020 to 2021 to winter 2024 to 2025. England and Wales.

Period	Total number of recipients (millions)
Winter 2020 to 2021	10.2 million
Winter 2021 to 2022	10.3 million
Winter 2022 to 2023	10.4 million
Winter 2023 to 2024	10.6 million
Winter 2024 to 2025	1.3 million

Source: WFP statistics on Stat-Xplore

In winter 2023 to 2024, 10.6 million people in England and Wales received a WFP. In winter 2024 to 2025, 1.3 million people received a WFP, a decrease of 9.3 million (88%) from the previous year.

4. Beneficiaries of a WFP

Beneficiaries of WFP include recipients of WFP plus eligible pension age partners, primarily of Pension Credit, which is paid as a household benefit. The methodology for creating this measure is detailed in the Background, Methodology and Quality report.

In winter 2024 to 2025 there were 1.4 million beneficiaries of WFP.

5. Beneficiaries of a WFP as a proportion of the pensioner population aged 66 and over

Beneficiaries of WFP accounted for 13% of the pensioner population in England and Wales, aged 66 and over.

London had the highest proportion (22%) of pensioners who were beneficiaries of a WFP, and South East had the lowest proportion (9%).

Figure 2: The proportion of pensioners aged 66 and over who were beneficiaries of a WFP by region during winter 2024 to 2025. England and Wales.

Region	Beneficiaries as a proportion of pensioner population
North East	16%
North West	14%
Yorkshire and The Humber	13%
East Midlands	12%
West Midlands	13%
East	10%
London	22%
South East	9%
South West	10%
Wales	14%

Source: WFP Statistics

Whilst the beneficiaries as a proportion of the pensioner population rates within regions is a useful indicator, it can mask substantial variation within regions. If a region contains areas with both high and low rates of beneficiaries, the average rate for that region will not reflect this variation. Statistics at lower levels of geography can provide valuable additional insights.

Figure 3: A map showing the variation across local authorities in the proportion of the pensioner population who were beneficiaries of a WFP during winter 2024 to 2025. England and Wales

Source: WFP Statistics

The 10 Local Authorities with the highest proportion of pensioner beneficiaries were:

• Tower Hamlets (49%)

• Hackney (43%)

• Newham (40%)

• Islington (35%)

• Southwark (32%)

• Manchester (31%)

• Lambeth (31%)

• Barking and Dagenham (30%)

• Haringey (30%)

• Camden (28%)

The local authority with the highest proportion of pensioner beneficiaries was Tower Hamlets (49%), with almost half of the pensioner population as WFP beneficiaries. Nine out of the ten local authorities with the highest proportion of pensioner beneficiaries were in London.

The 10 local authorities with the lowest proportion of pensioner beneficiaries (excluding the Isles of Scilly) were:

• Hart (5%)

• Wokingham (5%)

• Mole Valley (6%)

• South Oxfordshire (6%)

• Ribble Valley (6%)

• Vale of White Horse (6%)

• Fareham (6%)

• East Hampshire (6%)

• Waverley (6%)

• West Oxfordshire (6%)

The local authority with the lowest proportion of pensioner beneficiaries of WFP was Hart (5%). Nine out of the ten local authorities with the lowest proportion of pensioner beneficiaries were in the South East.

Statistics for all local authorities and Westminster parliamentary constituencies are available in the supplementary ODS tables.

6. WFP amounts

For winter 2024 to 2025 just under two thirds of recipients (62%), received a WFP of £200.

Figure 4: Proportion of WFP recipients receiving £200 or £300 by region during winter 2024 to 2025. England and Wales

Region	Recipients of £200 (%)	Recipients of £300 (%)
North East	64%	36%
North West	64%	36%
Yorkshire and The Humber	62%	38%
East Midlands	61%	39%
West Midlands	60%	40%
East	60%	40%
London	66%	34%
South East	61%	39%
South West	59%	41%
Wales	62%	38%

Source: WFP statistics on Stat-Xplore

London is the region with the highest proportion of recipients receiving a WFP amount of £200 (66%) whereas the South West has the lowest proportion (59%).

To be eligible to receive a payment amount of £300, recipients had to be over the age of 80, or, have an eligible partner over the age of 80 in the qualifying week.

Statistics for all local authorities and Westminster parliamentary constituencies are available in the supplementary ODS tables by payment amount.

7. WFP made to those living in EEA or Switzerland

From winter 2002 to 2003, WFP was extended, under certain circumstances, to people who live outside of the UK but within eligible EEA countries and Switzerland. For winter 2015 to 2016 onwards certain countries with an average winter temperature higher than the warmest region of the UK (South West England) were excluded.

For winter 2024 to 2025, to be paid a WFP abroad, the applicant must be in scope of the Withdrawal Agreement or the equivalent agreements with the EEA-European Free Trade Association (EFTA) states, Switzerland, or the 2019 Convention with Ireland. The applicant must also be in receipt of a means-tested benefit equivalent to Pension Credit or another qualifying benefit between 16 to 22 September 2024 and be able to show that they have a Genuine and Sufficient Link to the UK.

Further details and a timeline of policy changes impacting WFP for people living outside the UK is available in the background, quality, and methodology report.

Recipients of a WFP in EEA and Switzerland

Between winter 2020 to 2021 and winter 2023 to 2024 recipient numbers were largely static. In the winter 2024 to 2025, changes to the eligibility criteria of WFP, meant any applicants residing in eligible EEA countries and to Switzerland, had to be in receipt of an equivalent benefit to eligible benefits in England and Wales. In the winter of 2024 to 2025, there were negligible WFP made to recipients in eligible EEA countries and Switzerland.

Figure 5: Total number of WFP recipients in eligible EEA countries and Switzerland from winter 2020 to 2021 to winter 2024 to 2025.

Period	Total number of recipients in eligible EEA countries and Switzerland
Winter 2020 to 2021	42,000
Winter 2021 to 2022	36,000
Winter 2022 to 2023	36,000
Winter 2023 to 2024	34,000
Winter 2024 to 2025	Negligible

Source: WFP statistics on Stat-Xplore

Further information on WFP made to recipients in eligible EEA countries and Switzerland is available on Stat Xplore from winter 2020 to 2021.

8. Definitions

More information about these definitions is available in the background, quality, and methodology report.

Recipient

Statistics relate to recipients of payments. Recipients of eligible means tested benefits will receive a WFP on behalf of themselves and an eligible partner (beneficiary).

Beneficiary

A beneficiary is an eligible pension age partner of someone who is in receipt of a WFP.

Qualifying week

To qualify for a WFP, an individual must meet certain circumstances during a given week each year. For winter 2024 to 2025 the qualifying week was between 16 and 22 September 2024. Qualifying weeks for previous years can be found in previous statistical releases.

Winter Fuel Payment (WFP)

An annual tax-free payment made to those eligible to help towards their heating costs. It is a lump sum payment and in most cases is paid automatically with some exceptions to eligible pensioners.

Pension Credit

A payment giving extra money to help those eligible over State Pension age with living costs. Read further information about Pension Credit.

9. About these statistics

As of 19 September 2023, WFP Statistics were designated Official Statistics.

Statistics under the previous methodology that cover the winter periods before winter 2020 to 2021 can be found in the previous WFP publications.

WFP was introduced in 1997 to help pension aged people pay their heating bills. It is an annual tax-free payment of either £200 or £300 (in Winter 2024 to 2025), to those eligible, to help meet the costs of heating their homes in winter. Previous payment amounts can be found in previous WFP publications and previous background, quality and methodology reports.

The payment is generally made in November or December but can extend throughout the year. Eligibility is based on the individual’s circumstances during the qualifying week, which is the third full week in the September before the winter covered by the payment. The qualifying age matches the State Pension age and is now 66.

Automatic entitlement to a WFP for winter 2024 to 2025 was based on the individual being in receipt of an eligible means tested benefit or an equivalent benefit in an eligible EEA country or Switzerland. The eligibility criteria for winter 2024 to 2025 is listed on the government web archive.

Pre-release access

In addition to staff who are responsible for the production and quality assurance of the statistics, up to 24-hour pre-release access is provided to ministers and other officials. We publish the job titles and organisations of the people who have been granted up to 24-hour pre-release access to the latest Winter Fuel Payments statistics.

Rounding Policy

Numbers over 1 million are rounded to the nearest 100,000. Numbers less than 1 million are rounded to the nearest 1,000. Percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number, with the exception of the accompanying tables and maps which are shown to 1 decimal place. Unrounded perturbed figures, with statistical disclosure control applied, can be obtained from Stat-Xplore and in accompanying tables and may not sum exactly to the rounded totals accordingly.

10. Related statistics

Cold Weather Payment estimates – estimated number of Cold Weather Payments and total amounts paid.

Pension Credit statistics recipients by age, gender, type and amount (including by local area) are available on StatXplore – Pension Credit is an income-related benefit made up of two parts:

• Guarantee Credit
• Savings Credit

Income-related benefits and estimates of take-up statistics – estimates of the take-up of the main income-related benefits by caseload and expenditure in Great Britain.

Statistics on weekly pension credit claims received from 1 April 2024 to 1 September 2024 – number of weekly pension credit claims

Northern Ireland Social Fund Annual Report – part of Northern Ireland Department for Communities Statistics. The annual WFP statistics for Northern Ireland are published in this report.

Winter Fuel Payment is now devolved to Scotland who have introduced a Pension Age Winter Heating Payment from Winter 2024 to 2025.

Benefit Expenditure and Caseload tables – part of the DWP welfare statistics.

The total amount spent on WFP for people living outside Great Britain has previously been reported within these statistics. However, expenditure for residents of Great Britain is covered by a separate report under the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding with the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). It is part of the OBR’s independent reporting of benefit expenditure under the Budget Responsibility & National Audit Act 2011.

Fuel Poverty statistics – Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.

Fuel poverty in England is measured by the Low Income Low Energy Efficiency (LILEE) metric – measure of fuel poverty. See the LILEE methodology.

11. Contacts

Lead Statisticians: Dominique Radcliffe, Russ Bentley and Steve Watkins

DWP would like to hear your views on our statistical publications. If you use any of our statistics publications, we would be interested in hearing what you use them for and how well they meet your requirements. Email: wfp.statistics@dwp.gov.uk We are only able to reply to questions about the statistics.

Press enquiries should be directed to the DWP Press Office: E-mail: newsdesk@dwp.gov.uk 

ISBN: 978-1-78659-848-6