Overview
- Most of the roughly nine million eligible pensioner households were paid automatically in November and December 2025, but anyone still missing an expected payment must act by January 28.
- First‑time or required claims can still be made by post or phone until March 31, 2026, and callers should have their National Insurance number, bank details and, if relevant, marriage or civil partnership date.
- Eligibility generally covers people born before 22 September 1959 who were in England or Wales during the 15–21 September 2025 qualifying week, with payments of £100 to £300 based on age and household circumstances; Scotland operates a separate scheme.
- Payments land in the usual State Pension or benefits account with a reference beginning with the recipient’s National Insurance number followed by “DWP WFP,” which people are urged to check before calling.
- Those with annual incomes above £35,000 will have the payment reclaimed by HMRC via 2026–27 tax code changes or Self Assessment, and pensioners are warned to ignore scam texts or links claiming to be from the DWP.