Pension age
Pension Age Winter Heating Payment: Scotland’s winter fuel help
Paid by Social Security Scotland in place of the Winter Fuel Payment, at slightly higher amounts.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
Pension Age Winter Heating Payment is the Scottish version of the Winter Fuel Payment, paid by Social Security Scotland to people who live in Scotland and were born on or before 27 June 1960. For winter 2026 to 2027 it is £211.15 for someone living alone, or with nobody else eligible, and £316.70 for anyone born before 28 September 1946. Two eligible people sharing a home without a qualifying benefit receive £105.55 each, or £158.35 each when both are in the older group. The qualifying week is 21 to 27 September 2026, and you must live in Scotland on at least the last day of it. Most people are paid automatically from November 2026, after a letter, into the account used for the State Pension. As in the rest of the UK, HMRC recovers the payment from anyone whose own taxable income is over £35,000. The amounts are about 5.6% higher than the Winter Fuel Payment paid in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Your Pension Age Winter Heating Payment
Payment for winter 2026 to 2027
£211.15
| Kept after HMRC recovery | £211.15 |
| Paid from | November 2026 |
Every amount for winter 2026 to 2027
| Your situation in the qualifying week | Born 28 Sept 1946 to 27 June 1960 | Born before 28 Sept 1946 |
|---|---|---|
| Living alone, or nobody you live with is eligible | £211.15 | £316.70 |
| You get a qualifying benefit on your own | £211.15 | £316.70 |
| Living with another eligible person, no qualifying benefit | £105.55 | £158.35 if they are also older; £211.15 if not |
The qualifying benefits that change the amount are Pension Credit, Universal Credit, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance and Income Support. A couple with a joint award receives a single payment, made to the main person getting the DWP benefit. Someone born between 28 September 1946 and 27 June 1960 who lives with an older eligible person receives the lower shared figure, £105.55, while the older person receives £211.15.
How it compares with the rest of the UK
| Situation | Scotland | England, Wales, NI |
|---|---|---|
| Living alone, born 1946 to 1960 | £211.15 | £200.00 |
| Living alone, born before 28 Sept 1946 | £316.70 | £300.00 |
| Sharing, both born 1946 to 1960 | £105.55 | £100.00 |
| Sharing, both born before 28 Sept 1946 | £158.35 | £150.00 |
The structure is the same as the DWP’s Winter Fuel Payment: the same birth dates, the same qualifying week, the same £35,000 recovery. Only the amounts and the agency differ.
The £35,000 recovery
Since winter 2025 to 2026 the payment has been universal again for people of pension age, but anyone whose individual total income is over £35,000 has it taken back by HMRC, through a tax code change or a Self Assessment return. Joint income does not count: in a couple where one partner has £40,000 of pension income and the other £15,000, only the first loses their payment. You can opt out if you would rather not receive a payment that will be recovered; Social Security Scotland explains how on its opt-out page.
Other winter help in Scotland
Scotland has no Cold Weather Payments. People on certain low-income benefits receive a single Winter Heating Payment of £62.00 instead, whatever the weather, and families of children on the highest disability rates receive the Child Winter Heating Payment of £265.50. A pensioner on Pension Credit can therefore receive both Pension Age Winter Heating Payment and Winter Heating Payment in the same winter. None of these payments affects other benefits. Benefits in Scotland lists the rest of the Scottish system, and the amounts are taken from the Scottish Government’s 2026-27 up-rating report.
Three households, three amounts
A widow in Dundee, born in 1949 and living alone on her State Pension, receives £211.15. Her income is well under £35,000, so she keeps it.
A couple in Inverness, he born in 1944 and she in 1951, neither on Pension Credit, are both eligible and live together. He is in the older group and she is not, so he receives £211.15 and she £105.55, £316.70 for the household. Had they had a joint Pension Credit award, a single payment of £316.70 would have gone to the main claimant.
A retired consultant in Edinburgh, born in 1958, with a workplace pension of £48,000 a year, is paid £211.15 in the winter and has it taken back by HMRC through her tax code during the following tax year, unless she opts out first.
Who needs to apply
Most people do not: Social Security Scotland pays automatically and writes first, sending the money to the account used for the State Pension or other Scottish benefits. A small number need to apply, mainly people who do not receive the State Pension or another benefit that would identify them. The eligibility checker on mygov.scot tells you whether you are one of them. People who were in hospital getting free treatment for the whole qualifying week and the 52 weeks before it, or in custody for the whole week, are not eligible.