Pensioners warned to watch out for scams as winter fuel payment recovery starts

Pensioners are being warned to watch out for fraudsters as the recovery of winter fuel payments for some people starts this month.

Winter fuel payments paid in winter 2025 will be recovered from pensioners with income above £35,000.

Nearly two million people are expected to repay their winter 2025 payment due to their annual income being more than £35,000 and for most this will be an automatic process, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) said.

HMRC has recorded more than 25,000 winter fuel payment scam referrals over the past 12 months.

It is warning that scammers may use the recovery process as a hook to use texts, emails and phone calls to target people.

HMRC said that it will never contact people by text or email to ask them to repay their winter fuel payment, or to request bank details.

For most of those affected, the payment will be recovered through a change to their PAYE (pay as you earn) tax code from April, with no need to contact HMRC, the revenue body said.

For those in self-assessment who file online, the payment should show in their 2025-26 tax return, due by January 31 2027.

HMRC said people should check and add it manually if it is not shown. People filing paper returns will need to add it on their tax return, due by October 31 2026.

The revenue body said this applies across the UK, including in Scotland, where the payment is called the pension age winter heating payment and in Northern Ireland, where payments were made by the Department for Work and Pensions. In all cases, recovery is handled by HMRC.

Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s chief customer officer, said: “Criminals are great pretenders and often use fake letters, emails, calls and texts to impersonate HMRC and trick people into giving them money.

“I’d encourage anyone who’s unsure to use our online tool at gov.uk to check whether and how their payment will be recovered.”

The Government previously announced plans to restrict eligibility for winter fuel payments, but this was later rowed back on, with payments being restored to the vast majority of pensioners who had previously received them.

For a typical winter fuel payment of £200, PAYE customers with income more than £35,000 will pay around £17 per month extra in tax during the 2026-27 tax year to recover their payment, according to HMRC.

Suspect texts claiming to be from HMRC can be forwarded to 60599 and suspect emails can be forwarded to phishing@hmrc.gov.uk.

People who believe they may have been scammed should also tell their bank and the police.