The £300 Winter Fuel Payment has controversially been axed and replaced with a means testing system based on benefits like Pension Credit – but many may not realise that the DWP will pay out to expats living in the EU.
The Winter Fuel Payment is still in place for Brits living abroad in one of the EU or EEA countries which qualify for UK pension payments – and the DWP will still honour it.
If you’re from the UK but you no longer live in the UK, you can still get the £300 Winter Fuel Payment if you were born before September 23 1958, you moved to an eligible country before December 2020 (when the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement was ratified) and you have a ‘genuine and sufficient link’ to the UK – such as having family in the UK or having lived or worked in the UK.
You must also receive a ‘qualifying means tested benefit’ from the country you’re living in, one which is equivalent to those in the UK, such as Pension Credit, Universal Credit, Income based Jobseekers Allowance, Working Tax Credit, Income Support or Child Tax Credit.
The DWP says: “You must live in an eligible EEA country or Switzerland to get a Winter Fuel Payment.
“The list of eligible countries is: Austria; Belgium; Bulgaria; Croatia; Czech Republic; Denmark; Estonia; Finland; Germany; Hungary; Iceland; Ireland; Italy; Latvia; Liechtenstein; Lithuania; Luxembourg; Netherlands; Norway; Poland; Romania; Slovakia; Slovenia; Sweden; Switzerland.”
Spain, France, Greece and Portugal, some of the most popular countries for British expats to move to, are not on the list, though.
The government adds: “You will need to claim Winter Fuel Payment even if you have got it before. The payment is not made automatically.
“Download and fill in form IPCF091, if you’re a UK national or UK dual national living in an eligible country other than Ireland.
“If you’ve not claimed Winter Fuel Payment before, you’ll also need to fill in a Winter Fuel Payment claim form.
“If you got a Winter Fuel Payment before, you will need to provide evidence of the means-tested benefit you are getting (from the country you live in) in the Winter Fuel Payment additional information form.”
