Pension Age, Child and Winter Heating Payments in Scotland

Scotland runs three separate winter heating payments, each for a different group of people. The Pension Age Winter Heating Payment is an annual payment to support people of pension age with their heating bills, and it replaces the Winter Fuel Payment from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in Scotland¹. People receive between £105.55 and £316.70 depending on their circumstances during the qualifying week, and most are paid automatically into the same account as their state pension or Social Security Scotland benefits, with no need to apply¹.

Alongside it sit two smaller payments. The Winter Heating Payment, a one-off yearly payment of £62 for people on certain low-income benefits, replaced the Cold Weather Payment in Scotland². The Child Winter Heating Payment, worth £265.50 in winter 2026/27, goes to families of disabled children and young people³. All three are run by Social Security Scotland, the Scottish Government's benefits agency, and none of them depends on how cold the weather gets².

Three payments, three different groups

The three payments cover three distinct groups of people, and it is worth knowing which one applies to you before looking at the detail.

The Pension Age Winter Heating Payment is for households with someone over State Pension age. It is the Scottish equivalent of the Winter Fuel Payment, which people in England, Wales and Northern Ireland continue to receive, and it is paid at a slightly higher rate³. Winter 2025/26 was the first year of the new payment, which the Scottish Government delivers as a universal payment for all pensioner households⁶.

The Winter Heating Payment is a separate payment for adults, a one-off, tax-free payment during the winter to help people with heating costs, and it is a means-tested benefit aimed at people on low incomes⁷. It replaced the Cold Weather Payment in Scotland, and unlike that payment it is an annual payment and not based on temperature levels².

The Child Winter Heating Payment is a one-off, tax-free payment during the winter to help disabled children and young people and their families with heating costs⁸. It used to be called Child Winter Heating Assistance⁹.

Pension Age Winter Heating Payment: £105.55 to £316.70

The headline range is wide because the payment is worked out individually, based on your age, who you live with and whether you get certain benefits¹⁰. The official factsheet sets out the main amounts for winter 2026/27¹:

The legislation behind these figures sets out that an individual who is not entitled to a relevant benefit receives £101.70 if they live with another entitled individual or are in residential care, and £152.55 if they live with someone who has reached 80 in or before the qualifying week¹¹. For those in receipt of relevant benefits, the policy note describes the payment as a single annual payment of £203.40 for those of pension age below 80, and £305.10 for those aged 80 and over⁶. Where more than one person in a household qualifies, the household payment is given as an individual shared rate payment, including for those in a care home or independent hospital for the qualifying week and the 12 weeks prior⁶.

The amount increases when you reach 80 years old, in the same way as the Winter Fuel Payment does¹². Official statistics confirm that Pension Age Winter Heating Payments are paid at a slightly higher rate than Winter Fuel Payments, and that they are recovered via the tax system in the same way¹³.

One point of disagreement between official documents is worth flagging. The factsheet states people will receive between £105.55 and £316.70 depending on their circumstances during the qualifying week, while another official document describes a figure of £211.15 regardless of who the person lives with.

Who qualifies: born on or before 27 June 1960 and living in Scotland

For winter 2026/27, State pensioners in Scotland who were born on or before 27 June 1960 will get the payment¹. Independent guidance expresses the same rule as being born before 28 June 1960, and having lived in Scotland for at least the last day of the qualifying week, which runs from 21 to 27 September 2026⁴.

The legislation sets out the residency condition: the individual must be ordinarily resident in Scotland, and either not subject to immigration control or subject to it in specified circumstances¹¹. The person must also have reached pensionable age before or on a day in the qualifying week¹⁴.

Living abroad. If you live outside Scotland, you are not eligible⁴. There is a narrow exception rooted in EU rules: the Scottish Government classifies the payment as an old-age benefit under EC Regulation 883/2004, which means people who retained protections after EU exit may still qualify while habitually resident in an eligible EEA country or Switzerland during the qualifying week, provided they have a genuine and sufficient link to Scotland, and only where the country has the same or colder average winter temperature than the warmest region of the UK⁶.

Care homes. You may still qualify for the payment if you live in a care home¹⁰. The rules here are detailed:

• If you went to live in a care home on or after 29 June 2026 and are eligible, the amount you get is based on your situation before you went into the care home¹⁵.
• "Residential care" is defined in the regulations as a care home or independent hospital where the individual has lived there throughout the qualifying week and for the 12 weeks immediately preceding it, disregarding temporary absences¹¹.
• People who have been in residential care throughout that period and who receive Pension Credit, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance or Income Support receive a nil payment¹⁶.
• Others living with other entitled individuals, including in a care home or independent hospital, receive the individual shared rate payment⁶.

Couples. Where both partners qualify, each is assessed separately, and the shared rates in the table above apply. The legislation also provides that an individual is treated as entitled to a relevant benefit where the other member of their couple is entitled to one¹⁴. If you think a household situation has been assessed wrongly, the re-determination process described at the end of this page is the route to have it corrected.

When you need to claim instead of being paid automatically

Most people will be paid automatically and do not need to apply¹. Payments are made from November 2026 and continue throughout the winter, and most payments will be made automatically from November 2026¹. If you are eligible, you will receive a letter in November or December telling you how much you will get¹⁷.

A minority of people do need to make a claim. You might need to claim if you did not get a Winter Fuel Payment last year, if you have deferred your State Pension since last winter, or if you are a couple with a joint claim for Pension Credit or Universal Credit and the main person is under State Pension age¹⁸. The official factsheet also lists people who deferred their State Pension among those who might need to apply¹.

If a claim is needed:

1. Wait for the scheme to open, which is in October 2026¹⁸.
2. Gather your national insurance number, the date of your marriage or civil partnership, and your bank details¹⁸.
3. Tell Social Security Scotland if you were in hospital, a residential care home or prison during the qualifying week¹⁸.
4. Make sure your claim is sent and arrives by 31 March 2027¹⁸.

The 31 March deadline is set in legislation: an application must be made on or before 31 March in the year following the qualifying week¹¹.

Income over £35,000: how HMRC takes the payment back

The payment is universal, but it is not kept by everyone. If your total individual income is over £35,000, HMRC will take the payment back through the tax system¹. This mirrors the rule for Winter Fuel Payments in the rest of the UK, where people over State Pension age with annual income above £35,000 repay through HMRC³.

The income counted is broad. It includes any personal income received, for example state pension, private pension, self-employment, employment, any state benefits which are taxable, non-ISA savings interest and investments¹. If more than one person in a household will get a payment, HMRC will look at their income separately, so a couple where only one partner has income over £35,000 will see only that partner's payment recovered¹.

How the recovery works depends on how you pay tax:

• PAYE customers: HMRC will automatically collect payments through a change to the customer's tax code¹.
• Self Assessment customers: you will have to include your Pension Age Winter Heating Payment on your tax return¹.

The charge is equal to the full value of the payment, so someone whose income is over the threshold repays the whole amount rather than part of it²⁰. Official statistics confirm the recovery happens via the tax system in the same way as Winter Fuel Payments¹³. The recovery is done by HMRC after the payment has been made²¹.

A transitional point is worth knowing. In 2027/28, HMRC will begin to collect payments in advance during the year they are paid. To allow this to happen, there will be a period where two Pension Age Winter Heating Payments will be collected¹. Anyone near the £35,000 threshold may want to budget for that collection period.

Opting out of Pension Age Winter Heating Payment

People can choose to opt out of getting all future Pension Age Winter Heating Payments¹. This may matter to people whose income is over £35,000 and who would rather not receive a payment they must then repay through their tax code.

For winter 2026/27, the opt-out deadline is midday on 19 October 2026 for customers in Scotland¹⁹. Details of the opt-out process were announced after the Scottish Government confirmed pensioners would be able to opt out, with further detail published in the autumn of 2025²².

Two things the factsheet is clear about: getting the payment will not impact any other benefits, and the payment itself does not count as income when working out your entitlement to other benefits¹. So opting out is a personal choice about the tax recovery, not something that protects other benefit entitlement.

Child Winter Heating Payment: £265.50 for each disabled child

The Child Winter Heating Payment is a one-off, tax-free payment during the winter to help disabled children and young people and their families with heating costs⁸. In winter 2026/27 it rises to £265.50, from £255.80 the winter before³. The increase is set in legislation, which substitutes £265.50 for the previous £255.80⁵. Independent guidance describes it as £265.50 each year, paid per qualifying child²³.

A child or young person qualifies if they are under 19, live in Scotland, and get certain benefits during the qualifying week⁸. The key qualifying benefits are:

• The highest rate of the care component of Child Disability Payment or Disability Living Allowance for children⁸.
• The enhanced rate of the daily living component of Adult Disability Payment, for a young person under 19 living in Scotland²⁴.

Payments are made on an individual basis, so if there is more than one qualifying child or young person in your household, each of them gets a payment². The qualifying week for the Child Winter Heating Payment is the third week in September: for winter 2025/26 it ran from Monday 15 September to Sunday 21 September⁸. If the child usually gets one of the eligible benefits but was not paid between those dates because they were in hospital or residential care, the payment will still be made automatically⁸.

Most payments are made automatically, from early October in the first year of the scheme²⁵. The payment is not taxable and does not affect other benefits⁹.

Children who have moved abroad. Children who no longer live in Scotland but now live in Switzerland or an EEA country may still qualify²⁶. You might still be eligible if you lived in a certain EEA country or Switzerland during the qualifying week and can prove a genuine and sufficient link to Scotland, and if successful you might get a back payment for each year you were eligible⁸. You are not eligible if you live in Greece, Portugal, Spain, Cyprus, France or Malta⁸. Unlike people in Scotland, you need to make a claim: you can request the payment over the phone by calling Social Security Scotland and asking for a call back, or download a form, complete it and send it by post²⁷.

Winter Heating Payment: £62 for people on low-income benefits

The Winter Heating Payment is a one-off payment made in Scotland during the winter to help people with heating costs²⁸. It replaced the Cold Weather Payment in Scotland, and its eligibility requirements are the same as the Cold Weather Payment in England and Wales, with one big difference: it does not matter how cold it gets, because the payment does not depend on the temperature outside¹⁰. It is a reliable annual payment, paid regardless of weather⁷.

For winter 2026/27 the payment is £62, up from £59.75³. The figure is set in legislation, which substitutes £62.00 for the previous £59.75⁵. You may be eligible if you are entitled to one of the qualifying benefits on at least one day in the week starting on the first Monday in November². The qualifying benefits and conditions include:

• Pension Credit: you get Pension Credit²⁸.
• Universal Credit: you are working and get a child or young person disability element, or you are not working and have a child under 5, or get the limited capability for work element or the limited capability for work related activity element²⁸.
• Income-related ESA: you are in the support group or work-related activity group, or you get a severe or enhanced disability premium or pensioner premium²⁸.
• Income Support and income-based JSA: you get one of the disability premiums, such as the disability premium, severe disability premium, child disability premium or pensioner premium²⁸.
• Support for Mortgage Interest: you get a disability premium, child disability premium or a pensioner premium²⁸.

If you were entitled to a benefit other than Pension Credit, you will also need to meet further conditions to be eligible²⁹. If you started getting one of these benefits after the qualifying week and it is backdated to cover it, you might still be eligible, though different benefits have different backdating rules and time limits²⁸.

If you qualify, the payment is made automatically, with no need to apply¹⁰. It is normally paid between December and February, and for winter 2026/27 payments are made between December 2026 and February 2027, with an email or letter from Social Security Scotland beforehand³⁰. It is paid directly into your bank or building society account, or through the Payment Exception Service if you are unable to open or manage an account³¹. It does not count as income when working out your entitlement to other benefits³¹.

Missing or wrong payments: challenging a decision

If a Pension Age Winter Heating Payment is missing, late or for the wrong amount, you can usually ask for the decision to be looked at again. This is known as a re-determination. If you still disagree with the outcome, you can appeal to an independent tribunal³².

The process in order:

1. Ask Social Security Scotland for a re-determination. You will usually be given one month to dispute a decision³².
2. The legislation sets the period for requesting a re-determination at 42 days, beginning with the day you are informed of the right to make the request¹⁴.
3. If you still disagree after the re-determination, appeal to an independent First-tier Tribunal, a right provided for in the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018¹⁶.

The same framework of re-determination and appeal rights applies to determinations made without an application as to those made after a claim¹⁶. The general guide to challenging a benefits decision and to appealing to a tribunal covers these steps in more detail.

To contact Social Security Scotland about a Winter Heating Payment, call 0800 182 2222, Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm²⁹. For the Pension Age Winter Heating Payment, the official factsheet lists a Text Relay Service on 18001 +0300 244 4000 for people who are hard of hearing¹.

Beyond the formal challenge process, people struggling with energy costs have other routes. Independent sources point to wider help with gas and electricity arrears, including help with energy bills schemes such as the Warm Home Discount, and to free debt advice if bills have built up². A benefits calculator can also show whether you are missing entitlements, such as Pension Credit, which itself unlocks the Winter Heating Payment.