Overview

• People in England and Wales born on or before 22 September 1959 will get £100–£300, with the policy reinstated for around nine million pensioners after a June reversal.
• Most eligible recipients will be paid automatically in November or December 2025, with letters in October or November setting out individual amounts.
• Those with taxable income above £35,000 will still receive the payment but HMRC will recover it via tax code adjustments or Self Assessment, and an opt‑out is available before 15 September 2025.
• Eligibility is subject to exclusions including living outside England and Wales, being in hospital for the whole qualifying week (15–21 September 2025) and the year before, being in prison for the qualifying week, or certain care‑home cases on means‑tested benefits.
• DWP and HMRC have issued scam alerts about phishing related to opting out, with HMRC saying it removed 4,600 fake websites, and the Social Security Advisory Committee has warned the scheme’s complexity could unsettle some elderly recipients.