State pensioners have weeks left to get £300 Winter Fuel Payment and £11,314 benefit | Personal Finance | Finance

State pensioners have just weeks left to get a £200 to £300 Winter Fuel Payment – not to mention up to £11,314 per year that goes with it in benefits.

Labour controversially axed the universal Winter Fuel Payments this year and made them means tested, so as many as 10 million pensioners who used to receive an automatic £250 to £300 payment will not get it this year.

But there is still a way pensioners can qualify for the money, as well as another £330 a week on top – or £11,314 a year – but time is rapidly running out to claim it.

Pension Credit, an area of benefits which money expert Martin Lewis has campaigned on vociferously, is still available to pensioners who are on low incomes.

But the deadline to claim Pension Credit and backdate your claim to the start of the winter, thus giving you access to the £300 Winter Fuel Payment as well, is rapidly running out.

Martin has said that as many as 800,000 pensioners are still missing out on Pension Credit and as a consequence, are missing their rightful Winter Fuel Payment cash too.

If you earn less than £218 a week (£332 in a couple), such as from income, savings or investments, you are almost certainly eligible for Pension Credit and you’ll get the winter fuel cash too.

To qualify for the Winter Fuel Payment, you needed to have been eligible during the ‘qualifying week’ of September 16 to 22, 2024.

But Pension Credit claims can be backdated by three months, so you still have until December 21 to claim Pension Credit and get the winter fuel payment.

But there are just 28 days left as of today, not even a full month, to get your claim sorted and get the claim backdated to qualify for the Winter Fuel Cash and up to £11,314 of Pension Credit payments on top.

The government says: “You can apply any time after you reach State Pension age but your application can only be backdated by 3 months. This means you can get up to 3 months of Pension Credit in your first payment if you were eligible during that time.

“You must apply for Pension Credit by 21 December 2024 to qualify for a 2024 to 2025 Winter Fuel Payment (or Winter Heating Payment, if you live in Scotland).”

You can apply online at gov.uk or call 0800 99 1234.