Support to help pay for energy costs if you live in Scotland
If you get the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit, or
Are on a low income
You could check if you are eligible for:
Warm Home Discount
This pays £150 towards your electricity bill. It is managed by energy suppliers who have chosen to take part.
To find out if you can get this, you will need to know who your electricity supplier is. If you aren’t sure, we tell you how to find out who supplies your energy here.
If you get the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit, you can find out if you can get this and how to claim, here.
If you’re on low income, visit this page to find out if you can get Warm Home Discount and how to claim.
If you get low-income benefits and have extra heating needs.
You could check if you are eligible for:
Winter Heating Payment (this has replaced the Cold Weather Payment)
This is a payment towards your heating costs. It is paid during the winter automatically into the same account you get other benefits paid into.
You can find out more about Winter Heating Payment, including if you are eligible here.
Pension Age Winter Heating Payment (this has replaced the Winter Fuel Payment)
If you’re eligible, you could get between £101.70 – £305.10 to help with your heating costs over winter.
Important: Pension Age Winter Heating Payment replaced Winter Fuel Payments in Scotland: As the Scottish Government now has Social Security Scotland in place, certain benefits previously awarded by Department for Work and Pensions have been replaced with new benefits.
Find out if you’re eligible by calling 0800 731 0469 or visiting Pension Credit: Eligibility – GOV.UK.
Will you need to apply: For most people, if you are eligible the payment will be made automatically, so you do not need to apply. You will receive a letter to confirm your payment from November 2025 onwards.
You may need to apply if:
- You have deferred your State Pension
- You’re a couple with a joint award for Pension Credit, Income-based Job Seeker’s Allowance, Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support or Universal Credit, and the main person getting the benefit is under State Pension age.
If you need to apply, you must do so before 31st March 2026
Find out the ways you can apply for Pension Age Heating Payment.
How will you receive the payment: Social Security Scotland will pay the Pension Age Winter Heating Payment into the same bank account where you receive your State Pension or into the account used for your other Social Security Scotland benefits.
Find out more about the Pension Age Winter Heating Payment in Scotland.
