DWP confirms deadline for state pensioners to stop £300 payments | Personal Finance | Finance
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed the deadline for state pensioners to stop payments of up to £300 this winter.
Winter Fuel Payments will automatically roll out to eligible pensioners born before June 28, 1960, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland from November to help with heating costs during the colder months. The payments are worth between £100 and £300 depending on when you were born and your circumstances in the qualifying week between September 21 to 27, 2026. While all pensioners born before June 28, 1960, will be eligible to receive a payment, not everyone is entitled to keep it.
HMRC will automatically begin reclaiming the payment in the following tax year until the amount has been repaid in full. It would mean deductions from your income every month until the payment has been paid back. Or, for those who file a self-assessment, having to declare the payment to then repay it to HMRC.
But pensioners can avoid this by stopping DWP from issuing a Winter Fuel Payment altogether and it simply requires opting out before the 2026 deadline.
The DWP has set the deadline to do this at 11.59pm on September 20, 2026, if you opt out online, or an earlier deadline of 6pm on September 18, 2026, if you call the helpline.
Pensioners don’t need to repeat this opting out process every year and won’t receive a Winter Fuel Payment in the future unless they choose to opt back in.
Confirming the 2026 deadline for opting out, the DWP said: “To opt out of getting Winter Fuel Payments, you need to either:
call the helpline before 6pm on 18 September 2026
“You’ll need to provide your National Insurance number when you use the online form or call the helpline.
“If your total income is over £35,000 and you did not opt out, HMRC will take your Winter Fuel Payment back. You cannot return it yourself. You can check how HMRC will take it back.
“You do not need to opt out every year. You will not receive Winter Fuel Payment in future years unless you opt in again.
“You can opt in again by contacting the Winter Fuel Payment Centre. To get a payment for winter 2026 to 2027 you need to contact them before 31 March 2027.”
Pensioners will receive a letter from the DWP in October or November this year confirming how much Winter Fuel Payment they will get, before payments begin being issued in November and December.
If you live alone and no one you live with is eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment, you’ll get a £200 payment if you were born between September 28, 1946 and June 27, 1960, or a £300 payment if you were born before September 28, 1946.
The money will usually be paid into the same account as your State Pension and other benefits.
