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Winter Fuel Payment: Widowed People

Asked by Tom MorrisonLiberal DemocratDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled Answered 12 January 2026UIN 101535

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Winter Fuel Allowance reforms include any safeguards for pensioners who have recently been widowed and whose household income has significantly reduced.

Answered by Torsten Bell

Winter Fuel Payments remain a simple scheme which provides a payment to the majority of pensioners quickly and automatically, as a contribution towards heating costs in winter - and around 9 million pensioners will benefit this winter.

Pensioners who experience a significant reduction in their household income may become eligible for much more significant financial support such as Pension Credit or Housing Benefit.

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