Pensioners to benefit from winter heating support  

Around 879,000 pensioners across Scotland are set to benefit from Pension Age Winter Heating Payment to help with heating their homes this winter.   

We first delivered the payment, which has replaced Winter Fuel Payment in Scotland, last winter, with over 1.055 million payments made.  

For winter 2026/27, pensioners will receive between £105.55 and £316.70 depending on their household’s circumstances. Most people will receive their payment automatically.  

To receive the payment this winter, people must have reached pensionable age by the end of the qualifying week (21-27 Sept 2026), which means they must have been born before 28 June 1960. 

Payments will start to be made later this year and continue throughout the winter.  

The ability to opt out from the payment is now live. Pensioners whose personal income is more than £35,000 will have their payments recovered through the HMRC tax system, or they may wish to opt out altogether. 

For PAYE customers, HMRC will automatically collect payments through a change to the customer’s tax code. In the 2027 to 2028 tax year, HMRC will begin to collect the winter payment in advance during the year it is paid. This means that both the 2026 winter payment and 2027 winter payment will be collected in the 2027 to 2028 tax year, to allow HMRC to move to advance collection.  

Self Assessment customers will have to include their Pension Age Winter Heating Payment on their tax return. Where possible HMRC will include this automatically for online filers, but customers should check and include it themselves if not. 

People can choose to opt out by visiting the website, Opt out of the payment - mygov.scot or by calling us on 0800 182 2222 before midday on 19 October 2026.  
  An online eligibility checker has also been created to help people find out how much they will receive.  

Find out more on Pension Age Winter Heating Payment, including eligibility and who needs to apply, at Pension Age Winter Heating Payment - mygov.scot