How to Qualify for Winter Fuel Payments If You Earn Over £35,000

A straightforward pension strategy can help you qualify for Winter Fuel Payments even if your income exceeds the £35,000 threshold. Despite earnings above this limit, you may still receive the payment automatically—unless you opted out by the September 15 deadline.

For those who did not opt out, HMRC and the government will recover the Winter Fuel Payment from your tax code starting April 2026, or add it to your self-assessment tax bill.

However, if your income is just over the limit—for example, £35,500—there are simple pension methods to reduce your taxable income below £35,000. Financial experts recommend increasing contributions to your workplace or personal pension since pension payments reduce your taxable income.

If you’re still employed, making an additional £500 contribution to your pension could bring your taxable income under the threshold. Other approaches include salary sacrifice schemes offered by some employers, which allow you to lower your official salary in exchange for pension contributions, as well as salary sacrifice for cycle-to-work or childcare schemes—all of which reduce your taxable earnings.

Households with a State Pensioner born on or before September 21, 1959, qualify for an automatic Winter Fuel Payment of either £200 or £300. The higher amount applies if someone in the household was born on or before September 21, 1945 (aged 80 or over). Payments are normally made in November or December, though this year’s exact dates have not yet been confirmed.

Consumer expert Martin Lewis clarifies that increasing pension contributions generally does not reduce your taxable income for Winter Fuel Payments unless it is done through a workplace pension salary sacrifice scheme. In this scheme, your salary is reduced, and your employer pays that amount directly into your pension, which can lower your taxable income. Increasing salary sacrifice contributions could help you qualify by bringing your income below the £35,000 threshold.