Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, and if so how, recipients of the Winter Fuel Payment may return their payment to the Treasury.

Eligibility for Winter Fuel Payments is based on female State Pension age. The latest estimates we have show that there are currently around 600,000 higher and additional rate taxpayers in Great Britain in 2014/15 who are above the female State Pension age and therefore qualify for Winter Fuel Payments¹.

We ask people who want to return their payment to do so by post so that it can be dealt with securely under existing Departmental financial processes and recorded against their Winter Fuel Payment account. We also ask for a covering letter indicating whether or not they wish us to continue to issue payments in future years.

Returned payments should be sent to the address on the issuing letter or to the office that pays the claimant’s benefit.

The latest estimates we have show that treating Winter Fuel Payments as taxable income would bring in around £250 million a year of additional revenue².

Notes:

1. This estimate is based on the 2011/12 Survey of Personal Incomes using economic assumptions consistent with the OBR’s November 2014 economic and fiscal outlook.

The estimate uses ONS population projections at mid year 2012 adjusted for financial years.

The estimate is rounded to the nearest 100,000.

2. This estimate is based on DWP modelling using HMRC taxpayer data from November 2012 and Winter Fuel Payment caseload data from Winter 2013.

This takes into account revenue from Basic, Higher and Additional rate taxpayers.

Winter Fuel Payment rates are assumed to be £200 per year for recipients under 80 and £300 a year for recipients aged 80 and over.