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A major change to eligibility rules for the Winter Fuel Payment will see nine million pensioners receive the cash boost this winter.

last week announced that the payment, which is worth up to £300, will be restored to the vast majority of pensioners who were previously denied it under rule changes made by last year. The rule meant only pensioners claiming or certain other income-related benefits could get the payment last winter, taking the number of people eligible for it down from 11.4 million to just 1.5 million.

But a U-turn on eligibility rules now means that everyone over in England and Wales with an income of, or below, £35,000 per year will now benefit from a this winter.

According to the government this will mean around nine million (or over three quarters) of pensioners will be eligible for the payment and will receive it automatically.

But HM Treasury has confirmed that pensioners must meet strict qualifying criteria to be entitled to this winter's payment and has set out the exact dates for which eligibility will be assessed.

Eligibility is based on a person's age and place of residence during the qualifying week, which will be the third full week of September, from Monday, September 15 to Sunday, September 21 2025. This means a person must have reached State Pension age - which is currently age 66 for men and women - by the end of the qualifying week (so by September 21, 2025) to be eligible.

The Winter Fuel Payment is worth £200 per household, or £300 per household where there is someone over the age of 80. Shared payments will be made to pensioners not on an income-related benefit such as Pension Credit.

Pensioners in England and Wales with an income above £35,000 per year will see their Winter Fuel Payment be automatically recovered by HMRC via PAYE or in their Self-Assessment tax return.

Payments will be made automatically by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) so pensioners don't need to do anything to get it. Devolved automatically in Scotland and Northern Ireland will each receive a funding uplift to meet the new threshold.

HM Treasury said: "No pensioner will need to take any action as they will automatically receive the payment this winter, and for those with incomes above the threshold it will be automatically recovered via HMRC.

"The payment of £200 per household, or £300 per household where there is someone over 80, will be made automatically this winter.

"Over 12 million pensioners across the United Kingdom will also benefit from the Triple Lock, with their State Pension set to increase by up to £1,900 this parliament."