Pensioners across the UK are being warned to remain on high alert for fraudulent activity as the recovery of the 2025 Winter Fuel Payment commences this month.

With nearly two million people expected to repay the benefit due to their annual income exceeding £35,000, HMRC has highlighted a significant risk of scammers attempting to use this process as a hook for impersonation attempts.

Over the past 12 months, HMRC has received more than 25,000 reports of scams related to the Winter Fuel Payment. Officials are concerned that criminals will exploit the recovery process by sending deceptive texts, emails, and making unsolicited phone calls to target vulnerable groups.

For the majority of individuals, the payment recovery will be an automatic process handled through a change to their PAYE tax code starting this month (April 2026). In these cases, there is no requirement for the individual to contact HMRC.

For those who file through Self Assessment, the process varies slightly:

Online Filers: The payment should be pre-populated in the 2025 to 2026 tax return, which is due by 31 January 2027. Customers are advised to check this information and add it manually if it does not appear automatically. Paper Filers: Individuals will need to add the payment detail to their tax return, which must be submitted by 31 October 2026.

These recovery rules apply throughout the UK. This includes Scotland, where the benefit is known as the Pension Age Winter Heating Payment, and Northern Ireland, where the Department for Work and Pensions issued the original payments on behalf of the Northern Ireland Executive. Regardless of the region, the recovery process is managed exclusively by HMRC.

Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC's Chief Customer Officer, said: "Criminals are great pretenders and often use fake letters, emails, calls and texts to impersonate HMRC and trick people into giving them money. I'd encourage anyone who's unsure to use our online tool at GOV.UK to check whether and how their payment will be recovered – there's no need to call us."

HMRC has issued a strict reminder that it will never contact individuals via text or email to request repayment of the Winter Fuel Payment or to ask for bank details. To verify whether a payment is subject to recovery and to understand the correct procedure, residents are encouraged to use the official HMRC online checking tool available at GOV.UK.