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Scotland to recover winter fuel payment from better-off pensioners

Getty Images A man in a Christmas jumper huddles for warmth next to a heaterGetty Images
All pensioners with an income of less than £35,000 will qualify for the payment

The Scottish government says it will no longer offer its new winter fuel payment for pensioners on a universal basis.

It said it would seek to recover funds via the tax system from pensioners earning more than £35,000 - matching a move by the UK government.

Scottish ministers had set out plans for a payment slightly more generous than that on offer from the UK, by £3 to £5 per household.

However, they faced criticism as payments would go to all pensioners - potentially including millionaires - rather than being targeted at those most in need.

Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said that "following careful consideration of the options available" talks were taking place to match the UK system.

She said: "We will bring forward regulations to ensure that, from this winter onwards, all pensioners will receive either £203.40 or £305.10 per household, depending on age.

"We are in discussion with the UK government to extend the proposed arrangements in England and Wales to recover payments from those pensioners with an individual income of more than £35,000 through the tax system."

She added this would ensure the payments were targeted to helping those in poverty.

Getty Images Supporters and members of Age UK deliver a petition with over 650,000 signatures to Downing Street - they are holding signs saying things like Prime Minister, 650,000 people urge you to reconsiderGetty Images
Campaigners urged the UK government to reverse their original decision

Somerville said those receiving the payment in Scotland will be better off than their counterparts in the rest of the UK, because payments will be uprated by inflation compared to last winter - something that hasn't happened with the UK system.

Around 720,000 people are expected to be eligible for the funding.

UK chancellor Rachel Reeves last week confirmed the payment would be reinstated to the majority of pensioners in England, following months of anger and protest over changes implemented last year.

Somerville said this was a "welcome, if belated" move following a "betrayal of millions of pensioners" in 2024.

The Scottish government had delayed plans for its pension age winter heating payment after the Westminster cut was announced.

But in November it announced pensioners would receive at least £100 every year.

Getty Images Shirley-Anne Somerville - a a woman with glasses, shoulder length auburn and wearing a black dress with white polka dots - walks in a corridor at Holyrood while carrying a folderGetty Images
Shirley-Anne Somerville said the Scottish government had carefully considered all options

Somerville had said earlier this month that it was "important to have a universal system" for the payment.

The Scottish Conservatives said the decision to not make the payment universal was a "slap in the face" to pensioners.

Social security spokeswoman Liz Smith said: "This constant chopping and changing by SNP ministers is causing more needless anxiety for Scottish pensioners.

"This latest announcement means that hundreds of thousands of Scots will not have the payment even partially restored – despite John Swinney's promise that they would.

"This latest slap in the face will not be forgotten or forgiven by the pensioners affected."

A UK government spokesperson said: "It is right that support for fuel costs is targeted.

"The Scottish government will receive an uplift in their funding to support pensioners this winter.

"This is as a result of changes in England and Wales where everyone over state pension age with an income of, or below, £35,000 a year will benefit from a winter fuel payment this year."