Martin Lewis breaks down warm home discount rules for pension credit and benefit claimants

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Martin Lewis, 48, knows the ins and outs of state perks better than most and he has used that knowledge to guide people on the warm home discount offered by the government. This will be especially sought after at the moment as temperatures drop and the nights get darker.

Martin wasted no time recently as he broke down how the scheme works: “This is £140 credit that goes towards your energy bill. It’s automatic if you receive the guaranteed element of pension credit.

“But if you’re on certain benefits like income support, jobseekers and some people on Universal Credit, you will need to apply to your energy firm to get it.”

This, Martin warned, could be tricky as: “Some firms have caps on how many people they give it to and cut off dates, so do this quickly.”

According to the government, the £140 will cover electricity bills for the winter months but it is not paid directly to applicants, it is applied on a one-off basis to an electricity bill between September and March.

How a person applies for the warm home discount will depend on how they qualify.

The discount can be received by people who use a pre-pay or pay-as-you-go electricity meter.

If this is the case, the electricity supplier should be able to tell the applicant how they’ll get the discount, an example being a voucher which can be used to top up the meter.

Additionally, warm home discounts can also be received by those who own park (mobile) homes.

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For those who receive the guarantee credit element of pension credit, they would have qualified for the scheme if all of the following applied by July 5 2020:

  • Their energy supplier is part of the scheme
  • Their name (or partners name) is on the bill
  • They are getting the guarantee credit element of pension credit even with the additional savings credit element as well

Eligible applicants should receive a letter between October and December 2020 telling them how to get the discount.

The letter will provide details on if the applicant needs to call a helpline by February 26, 2021, to confirm their details.

So long as everything has been processed correctly, the electricity supplier will apply the discount to the bill by March 31, 2021.

If would-be applicants do not receive a letter, they can contact the warm home discount helpline for assistance if they think they should have been eligible.

It should be noted this scheme will not affect other winter focused state benefits such as cold weather payments or winter fuel payments.

Cold weather payments are issued if average temperatures reach particularly low levels for a certain amount of time.

Winter fuel payments provide monetary support to certain state pensioners.

Full details on all of this support can be found on the government’s website.

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