How Cold Weather Payments work
- £25 for each qualifying cold spell.
- A cold spell is 7 days in a row where the average temperature in your area is recorded or forecast at zero degrees or below.
- The scheme runs from 1 November 2026 to 31 March 2027.
- Payments are automatic and go into the account your benefits are paid into.
- They do not affect your other benefits.
Cold Weather Payments are not the same as the Winter Fuel Payment, which is a yearly payment based on age. You can get both.
Who qualifies
You need to be getting one of four benefits. For three of them, extra conditions apply.
| If you get | You usually qualify if |
|---|---|
| Pension Credit | You get Pension Credit. No other condition. |
| Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) | You are in the work-related activity group or the support group. If not, you qualify with a severe or enhanced disability premium, a pensioner premium, a disabled child, or a child under 5 living with you. |
| Universal Credit | You and any partner are not employed or gainfully self-employed, and either one of you has limited capability for work because of a health condition or disability, or you have a child under 5 living with you. You also qualify, whether you work or not, if your claim includes a disabled child amount. |
| Support for Mortgage Interest | You are treated as getting a qualifying benefit with a severe or enhanced disability premium, a pensioner premium, a disabled child, or a child under 5 living with you. |
Universal Credit has the strictest rules
Many people on Universal Credit are surprised not to get Cold Weather Payments. Unless your claim includes a disabled child amount, you usually need to be out of work and have either a child under 5 or limited capability for work.
What you need to do
Usually nothing. The Department for Work and Pensions pays you automatically when your area has a cold spell.
One exception: if you get Universal Credit or income-related ESA and you have a baby, or a child under 5 comes to live with you, report the change. If you do not, you will not automatically get the payments.
Checking your area
Each postcode is linked to a weather station. When that station records or forecasts 7 freezing days in a row, everyone eligible in that area is paid.
- England and Wales: use the Cold Weather Payment postcode checker on GOV.UK.
- Northern Ireland: use the checker on nidirect.
When you get paid
You should be paid within 14 working days of a qualifying cold spell. If you think you missed a payment:
- Pension Credit: contact the Pension Service.
- Universal Credit: add a note to your online journal, or call the helpline number on your letters.
- Other benefits: contact Jobcentre Plus.
Scotland
You cannot get Cold Weather Payments in Scotland. Social Security Scotland pays an annual Winter Heating Payment instead, whatever the weather. See home energy help in Scotland.
Nobody needs your bank details to pay you
Cold Weather Payments go into the account your benefits already use. A text or call asking you to confirm bank details to receive one is a scam. See how to spot one.
More help this winter
- The Warm Home Discount: £150 off your electricity bill if you get Pension Credit, Universal Credit, Housing Benefit or income-related ESA.
- The Winter Fuel Payment: £100 to £300 if you were born on or before 27 June 1960.
- Every scheme in one place: including council help for people in crisis.
If a cold home is a problem every winter, it can be worth looking at the heating itself. Households on benefits may be able to get a new boiler or first-time central heating through ECO4 before it ends on 31 December 2026.
