My dad passed away in November. He was entitled to the fuel payment, and his confirmation letter was received, but I have now closed all bank accounts to get the finances sorted.

Is he still or am I entitled to this money as I am the executor, and who do I contact? This payment was due this month or next.

SCROLL DOWN TO FIND OUT HOW TO ASK STEVE YOUR PENSION QUESTION     

Heating bills: My late father qualified for winter fuel payment, so will it still be paid?

Heating bills: My late father qualified for winter fuel payment, so will it still be paid?

Heating bills: My late father qualified for winter fuel payment, so will it still be paid?

Steve Webb replies: I was sorry to read about your recent bereavement.

With the current cold spell, I thought it might be helpful both to address your specific question about the rules on Winter Fuel Payments but also to remind readers about the other sources of help that are available with fuel bills.

The rules on eligibility for Winter Fuel Payments are relatively straightforward.

If you are over state pension age and lived at least one day in the UK during the relevant qualifying week, then you are eligible. The qualifying week for 2020 was 21 to 27 September inclusive.

Steve Webb: Find out how to ask the former Pensions Minister a question about your retirement savings in the box below

Steve Webb: Find out how to ask the former Pensions Minister a question about your retirement savings in the box below

Steve Webb: Find out how to ask the former Pensions Minister a question about your retirement savings in the box below

If the person who was eligible then dies between the qualifying week and the payment being made, the payment is still due and can be received by the estate of the person who died.

There is a dedicated Winter Fuel Payments Centre which you can phone or email and their contact details are here. 

As well as the Winter Fuel Payments scheme, there are two other major sources of help with fuel bills which it is useful for people to be aware of, especially if lockdown has led to increases in home heating and electricity bills.

The first is the system of ‘Cold Weather Payments’, which is completely separate to the Winter Fuel Payments scheme.

The Cold Weather Payments scheme covers all those on pension credit plus people of working age if they are disabled or have a young child, provided that they are receiving universal credit or similar income-related benefits.

The amount of Cold Weather Payment which you get depends on the temperature each week in your local area.

Every address in the UK is linked to a Met Office weather station and if the temperature at that station is below freezing for seven continuous days a payment is triggered.

The current rate is £25 for the week. A long cold spell can lead to a series of £25 payments being issued.

The scheme runs from the start of November to the end of March, and you can find out if your postcode has had a cold spell by checking here. 

STEVE WEBB ANSWERS YOUR PENSION QUESTIONS

       

The most important point to note is that Cold Weather Payments are not a benefit in their own right – they are ‘tagged on’ when you claim another benefit.

This means it is vitally important that you claim any pension credit or similar benefit that you may be entitled to, as this is your passport to entitlement to Cold Weather Payments during a cold spell.

The good news is that new claims for pension credit can generally be backdated for up to three months, so if you claim now you may be able to get both the pension credit and any associated Cold Weather Payments for the whole of the winter so far.

The other major source of help with fuel bills is the Warm Home Discount scheme. Again, this is not a benefit in its own right but is tagged on to receipt of other benefits, notably the ‘guarantee credit’ element of pension credit.

You may also qualify if you are on a low income and you satisfy the conditions set out by your energy supplier. Eligibility depends on your situation in the summer each year, and the key date for 2020 was 5 July.

Those who are eligible for a Warm Home Discount payment get £140 per year as a discount on their electricity bill.

For those on ‘guarantee credit’ this process should in most cases happen automatically, as the DWP will let your electricity company know they should apply a discount to your bill.

But if you are on a low income but not on ‘guarantee credit’ you will need to contact your energy supplier directly to make a claim.

Whether it is Cold Weather Payments or the Warm Home Discount scheme, claiming pension credit can be a route to valuable help.

You can claim pension credit online or over the phone and details of how to claim can be found here. 

Those who receive even a small amount of pension credit may also qualify for help with rent and council tax as well as benefiting from a free TV licence if they are aged 75 or over, so it is well worth making a claim.

Ask Steve Webb a pension question

Former Pensions Minister Steve Webb is This Is Money’s Agony Uncle.

He is ready to answer your questions, whether you are still saving, in the process of stopping work, or juggling your finances in retirement.

Steve left the Department of Work and Pensions after the May 2015 election. He is now a partner at actuary and consulting firm Lane Clark & Peacock.

If you would like to ask Steve a question about pensions, please email him at [email protected].

Steve will do his best to reply to your message in a forthcoming column, but he won’t be able to answer everyone or correspond privately with readers. Nothing in his replies constitutes regulated financial advice. Published questions are sometimes edited for brevity or other reasons.

Please include a daytime contact number with your message – this will be kept confidential and not used for marketing purposes.

If Steve is unable to answer your question, you can also contact The Pensions Advisory Service, a Government-backed organisation which gives free help to the public. TPAS can be found here and its number is 0800 011 3797.

Steve receives many questions about state pension forecasts and COPE – the Contracted Out Pension Equivalent. If you are writing to Steve on this topic, he responds to a typical reader question here. It includes links to Steve’s several earlier columns about state pension forecasts and contracting out, which might be helpful.  

TOP SIPPS FOR DIY PENSION INVESTORS

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk

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