Winter fuel payments will be universal for all state pensioners in 2025, the government has announced – but there are different schemes in place for England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland and in fact state pensioners in one UK area will be paid slightly more than £200 or £300.

The unpopular Pension Credit system of winter fuel payment eligibility has been scrapped for 2025 after a backlash. Instead, this year all state pensioners will get the £200 to £300 payment automatically, with those earning more than £35,000 in a single year having the money taken back off them in tax via HMRC. Crucially, nobody will have to apply for self-assessment who isn’t already enrolled in self-assessment, and instead the money will be recovered via PAYE.

But this particular system is only in place for people in England and Walesm with Scotland and Northern Ireland are implementing their own schemes.

Martin Lewis, speaking on his latest podcast, explained: “Winter fuel payments will once again be universal, and every household which has a state pensioner living in it will automatically get the payment. The basic payment is £200 if the pensioners in the household are under 80, and £300 if they are over 80.

“However, if any individual state pensioner earns over £35,000 a year, they will have their portion of the winter fuel payment clawed back through the tax system.

“That’s the summary of how it will work in a nutshell. And actually once you get into it, it gets more complicated.”

Right now, state pensioners are given £200 if they are aged under 80, or £300 if they are aged over 80, with those earning over the £35,000 per year threshold made to repay it via the tax system.

But that’s only in England and Wales. Scotland has now announced its own winter fuel payment scheme. All pensioners in Scotland with an income of less than £35,000 will receive the winter fuel payment this winter, the Scottish Government has said. Pensioners will receive either £203.40 or £305.10, the Social Justice Secretary has confirmed, so it’s not precisely the same as the England and Wales scheme and in fact gives you slightly more money by £3.40 or £5.10.

The Scottish Government announced: “Following careful consideration of the options available, the Scottish Government will mirror the approach taken by the UK Government.

“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.

“The intention is that the payment will be recovered automatically, and pensioners will not need to register with HMRC for this or take any further action.

“This approach ensures a higher level of support which those most in need will receive. Over 720,000 Scottish pensioners are estimated to benefit from the higher payment.”