Last day TODAY to claim up to £600 free cash for energy bills

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) confirmed in December that 11.6million payments have already been made in this year's tranche.

The payment is usually made automatically - but there could still be thousands of pensioners who haven't received their money.

This could be because they need to apply instead, and there are just hours left to do so, or they will miss out.

How much you get depends on your age and whether you get certain benefits, and getting the payment won't affect them.

Anyone who is eligible, but doesn't get it automatically, needs to apply by the end of today (March 31).

January 13 was the latest day the money should have arrived automatically.

You should look out for a code in your bank statement proving it's the winter fuel payment if you've not yet received it.

The code will include your National Insurance number followed by "DWP WFP" if you live in Wales, Scotland or England.

Payments last year were worth between £100 and £300.

However, this year all pensioners eligible for the payment are receiving an extra £150 to £300 cost of living payment on top.

That means depending on your circumstances you could receive up to £600 in free cash.

But you may get less than this - the minimum you can get is £250.

The money is designed to help older people with the cost of heating their homes over winter, which has rocketed this year because of an energy crisis.

So it's worth checking you've received the extra payment during this times.

Some people who are eligible but could miss out on the cash are those who live abroad in Switzerland or another EEA country.

Those who have reached state pension age but have delayed claiming their state pension could also be affected.

How do I claim the winter fuel payment?

You can make a claim by contacting the Winter Fuel Payment Centre either by post, phone or email.

The contact details will depend on where you live and a full list can be found on the gov.uk website.

You'll need the following information to hand.

• your National Insurance number
• your bank or building society details
• your BIC and IBAN numbers if you live in the EEA or Switzerland
• the date you were married or entered into a civil partnership (if appropriate)

You also need to tell them if you were in hospital or residential home during what's known as the qualifying week of September 20-26, 2021.

Who's eligible?

You'll qualify for a winter fuel payment if both of the following apply:

• you were born on or before September 25, 1956
• you lived in the UK for at least one day during the week of September 19 to 25, 2022, in what is known as the "qualifying week"

If you did not live in the UK during the qualifying week, you might still get the payment if both of the following apply:

• you live in Switzerland or an EEA country
• you have a "genuine and sufficient" link with the UK social security system, such as having lived or worked in the UK and having a family in the UK

But there are exclusions - you can't get the payment if you live in Cyprus, France, Gibraltar, Greece, Malta, Portugal or Spain.

This is because the average winter temperature is higher than the warmest region of the UK.

You will also not qualify if you:

• are in hospital getting free treatment for more than a year
• need permission to enter the UK and your granted leave states that you can not claim public funds
• were in prison for the whole "qualifying week"
• lived in a care home for the whole time between 28 June to 26 September 2021, and got Pension Credit, Income Support, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance or income-related Employment and Support Allowance

You may still be able to get the postcode-based cold weather payment or apply for the warm home discount scheme, even if you don't qualify for winter fuel payment.

Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk