Winter Fuel Payment

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If you live abroad

If you do not live in the UK, you’re only eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment if:

  • you moved to an eligible country before 1 January 2021
  • you were born before 25 September 1957
  • you have a genuine and sufficient link to the UK - this can include having lived or worked in the UK, and having family in the UK

Eligible countries

  • Austria
  • Belgium
  • Bulgaria
  • Croatia
  • Czech Republic
  • Denmark
  • Estonia
  • Finland
  • Germany
  • Hungary
  • Iceland
  • Ireland
  • Italy
  • Latvia
  • Liechtenstein
  • Lithuania
  • Luxembourg
  • Netherlands
  • Norway
  • Poland
  • Romania
  • Slovakia
  • Slovenia
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland

When to claim

You only need to claim Winter Fuel Payment if you’ve not got it since you moved abroad.

The rest of the time, you’ll get the payment automatically.

How to claim

You can claim Winter Fuel Payment by:

  • post - from 18 September 2023
  • phone - from 4 October 2023

The deadline for you to make a claim for winter 2023 to 2024 is 31 March 2024.

Claim by post

You’ll need to download and fill in:

  • a Winter Fuel Payment claim form
  • form IPCF091, if you’re a UK national or UK dual national living in an eligible country other than Ireland

Download the forms.

Send your completed forms to the following address.

Winter Fuel Payment Centre
Mail Handling Site A
Wolverhampton
WV98 1ZU
UK

Claim by phone

Call the Winter Fuel Payment Centre to claim by phone.

Winter Fuel Payment Centre
Email enquiry form
Telephone: +44 (0)191 218 7777
Textphone: contact Relay UK on +44 (0)151 494 2022 then 0800 731 0160
British Sign Language (BSL) video relay service if you’re on a computer - find out how to use the service on mobile or tablet
Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm
Find out about call charges

What to prepare before you call

Before you call, you will need to know:

  • your National Insurance number
  • your bank or building society details
  • your BIC and IBAN numbers
  • the date you were married or entered into a civil partnership (if appropriate)

Payments cannot be made into a National Savings and Investments (NS&I) account unless you already get other benefits paid into the account.

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

If you disagree with a decision

You can challenge a decision about your claim. This is called asking for mandatory reconsideration.

View a printable version of the whole guide

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