Households have been urged to check their bank accounts for their Winter Fuel Payment and Pensioner Cost of Living Payment, which could be worth up to £600.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has been handing out boosts to eligible households since November, with the last payments due to hit accounts on January 13.

Anyone who has yet to receive that payment is being asked to get in touch.

The Winter Fuel Payments, given to older people to help with energy bills over winter, are worth between £100 and £300 based on circumstances, and have been topped up by a £300 Pensioner Cost of Living Payment this year.

How to report missing Winter Fuel Payments

People who have not received their payments should contact the Winter Fuel Payment Centre online or by telephone.

The payments appear in bank statements with the payment reference beginning with the customer’s National Insurance number followed by ‘DWP WFP’ for people in Great Britain, or ‘DFC WFP’ for people in Northern Ireland.

Eligible claimants are being asked to double check their bank statements for this reference number before contacting DWP.

The overwhelming majority of Winter Fuel Payments are paid automatically but some people need to make a claim, such as those who qualify but do not receive benefits or the State Pension and have never previously received a Winter Fuel Payment.

How to apply for Winter Fuel Payments

Those who need to make a claim have until March 31to do so, with further information on who needs to make a claim available on the GOV.UK Winter Fuel Payment page.

Winter Fuel Payments are part of an extensive package helping people of all ages with the cost of heating their homes this winter.

This includes providing households with £400 towards their energy bills, with the Government’s Energy Price Guarantee saving the typical household another £900 on top of this.

In addition, millions of payments of up to £650 have already been made this year to low-income households on eligible means-tested benefits as part of the Government’s cost of living support. This includes pensioners receiving Pension Credit.

The average Pension Credit award is worth over £3,500 a year and the online Pension Credit calculator is on hand to help pensioners check if they’re likely to be eligible and get an estimate of what they may receive.

Further cost of living support to be paid next year was recently announced by the Chancellor. Payments will include a further £300 for pensioner households, up to £900 for households on means-tested benefits and £150 for those on eligible disability benefits.

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