Current status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 6 January 2026
To ask the Scottish Government when it anticipates that all eligible recipients of the Pension Age Winter Heating Payment will receive payments in 2025-26.
Pension Age Winter Heating Payment will support at least 880,000 pensioners with their heating bills this winter.
As of 14 December 2025, over 837,000 payments of our Winter Benefits have been made to help households with heating costs, including more than 568,000 Pension Age Winter Heating Payments. This payment replaces the Department for Work and Pensions’ Winter Fuel Payment in Scotland and is set at a higher rate than the equivalent support elsewhere in the UK.
Payments commenced in November, and we expect the vast majority of payments to be issued by the end of December. Work will continue throughout the rest of the winter to finalise any remaining payments.
Eligible people of State Pension age will receive a payment between £101.70 and £305.10 depending on their circumstances. Most will get their payment automatically–no application is needed.