At the beginning of June, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced that more than 75% of pensioners in Wales and England will now be eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment. We have extended eligibility so that no pensioners on a lower income will miss out on this support.

Because the Winter Fuel Payment will still be means-tested, this will make sure it goes to the pensioners who need it the most, and in a fair way.

When Labour took office a year ago, we discovered we had inherited from the previous Conservative Government a £22 billion black hole in the public finances in that financial year.

We therefore had to make some very difficult decisions to get the public finances back on a stable footing. We’ve done that and can now widen eligibility for Winter Fuel Payments.

Under the new system, all pensioners in Wales and England and Wales with an income of £35,000 a year or less will receive the Winter Fuel Payment.

If you are eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment, you do not need to take any action; the payment will be made automatically to you.

If your income is above £35,000 a year, the payment will be automatically recovered through HMRC, addressing a long-standing concern among pensioners.

Pensioners who wish to opt out of receiving the payment altogether will also be able to do so, with further details to be confirmed.

Introducing these changes now gives pensioners timely financial certainty ahead of winter and ensures payments can be made on time. Unlike in previous financial years, when Winter Fuel Payments were distributed regardless of income, this new approach ensures that support is better targeted, helping those who need it most.

In addition to the Winter Fuel Payment changes, over 12 million pensioners across the UK will continue to benefit from the Triple Lock, with the State Pension set to rise by up to £1,900 during this Parliament under the Labour Government. The Conservatives had threatened to abandon the Triple Lock, citing “sustainability issues”—but Labour is standing by it.

We are also paying a £150 Warm Home Discount for low-income households from October 2025, offering further support to those who need it most. This will mean that a total of 1.8 million households nationally, including 110,000 Welsh households, in fuel poverty will get extra support thanks to this decision taken by the UK Labour government.

As we continue the work of fixing the damage left behind by the Conservatives, pensioners and working people are seeing the benefits of a Labour government in power.