DWP issues urgent 'high alert' Winter Fuel warning to pensioners
The Winter Fuel Payment is a vital lifeline for many vulnerable people
The DWP has today issued an urgent warning to pensioners to be on high alert for scams. This comes as the recovery of Winter Fuel Payments is due to begin this month.
Winter Fuel Payment is a boost for those over the state pension age, offering £200 to help with the cost of heating their home over the Winter. The payment rises to £300 for those over 80.
Almost two million people are expected to repay their winter 2025 payment because their annual income exceeds £35,000. For most, this is an automatic process.
However, HMRC has received more than 25,000 Winter Fuel Payment scam referrals over the last 12 months. As a result, HMRC is now warning vulnerable individuals that scammers may now use the recovery process as a hook to send texts, emails and phone calls to target this group.
For most people, the payment will be recovered through a change to their PAYE tax code from this month (April 2026) with no need to contact HMRC. For those in Self Assessment who file online, the payment should be pre-populated in their 2025 to 2026 tax return, due by 31 January 2027.
People are urged to check and add it manually if it is not shown. Paper filers will need to add it on their tax return, due by 31 October 2026.
For a typical Winter Fuel Payment of £200, PAYE customers with income more than £35,000 will pay approximately £17 per month extra in tax during the 2026 to 2027 tax year to recover their payment.
This payment applies across the UK – including in Scotland, where it is known as the Pension Age Winter Heating Payment, and in Northern Ireland, where payments were made by the Department for Work and Pensions on behalf of the Northern Ireland Executive. In all cases, recovery is handled by HMRC.
But the scam warnings are a preemptive measure to protect vulnerable people who may not know how the recovery works. Coupled with the high number of attempted scams already, this makes it an urgent issue faced by pensioners across the UK.
Speaking on the scam warning, Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s Chief Customer Officer, said: "Criminals are great pretenders and often use fake letters, emails, calls and texts to impersonate HMRC and trick people into giving them money."
Mr Lloyd said he'd "encourage anyone who’s unsure to use our online tool at GOV.UK to check whether and how their payment will be recovered – there’s no need to call us”
HMRC will never contact people by text or email to ask them to repay their Winter Fuel Payment, or to request bank details. If someone contacts you asking to do so, it is a scam.
People can use HMRC's online checking tool at GOV.UK to see whether their payment will be reclaimed and how.