Winter Fuel Payment Regulations 2024 come into force

The Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment Regulations 2024 came into force on 16th September 2024, the date given in the instrument for its commencement¹. The regulations were made at 9.00 a.m. on 22nd August 2024 and laid before Parliament at 2.30 p.m. the same day¹. They were signed by Emma Reynolds, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Work and Pensions¹.

The regulations require the Secretary of State to pay a winter fuel payment to a person who, in the week beginning on the third Monday in September in any year, has reached pensionable age¹. That week is defined in the regulations as the "qualifying week"¹. The instrument sets the payment at £300 if the person has reached the age of 80 in or before the qualifying week, or if they are in a couple or a polygamous marriage and the other member has reached that age, and £200 in any other case¹.

The regulations also set out conditions connected to other benefits. They refer to an award of child tax credit or working tax credit of not less than £26 in respect of the tax year 2024-25¹. They provide that a person is not entitled if they are in residential care throughout the qualifying week and the period of 12 weeks immediately before that week, or if they have not made a claim for a winter fuel payment by 31 March following the qualifying week¹. Entitlement is also provided for a person who is habitually resident in one of the countries listed in Schedule 1 and demonstrates an entitlement to a benefit in that country equivalent to a relevant benefit¹.

The regulations extend to England and Wales only, subject to an exception: regulation 1 and regulation 7(1), and Schedule 2 on revocations, also extend to Scotland¹. Provision is made for the provisions giving entitlement to winter fuel payments to persons habitually resident in one of the countries listed in Schedule 1 to expire on 1st April 2025¹.

The regulations were revoked in England and Wales on 15th September 2025 by The Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment Regulations 2025 (S.I. 2025/969)¹. The 2024 instrument was also amended on 16th September 2024 by The Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment (Amendment) Regulations 2024 (S.I. 2024/898), which inserted words into regulation 7(1) and the Schedule 2 heading¹.

Why it matters for households

The regulations govern who receives a winter fuel payment in England and Wales and how much they receive, for the qualifying week beginning on the third Monday in September¹. For the 2024-25 tax year, the payment is £300 for those aged 80 or over in or before the qualifying week, and for those in a couple or polygamous marriage where the other member has reached that age, and £200 in any other case¹. People in residential care throughout the qualifying week and the preceding 12 weeks are excluded, as are those who have not claimed by 31 March following the qualifying week¹. The rules also cover people habitually resident in certain countries listed in Schedule 1 who are entitled to an equivalent benefit there¹. The regulations were revoked in England and Wales on 15th September 2025¹, so the position for later years is set by the 2025 regulations rather than this instrument.

What happens next

The provisions giving entitlement to winter fuel payments to persons habitually resident in one of the countries listed in Schedule 1 expire on 1st April 2025¹. The 2024 regulations were revoked in England and Wales on 15th September 2025 by The Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment Regulations 2025 (S.I. 2025/969)¹.