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NI Pensioners Warned About Scams as Winter Fuel Payment Recovery Process Begins
HMRC said nearly 2 million pensioners face repayment and warned criminals may impersonate the agency with fake texts, emails and calls.
- HM Revenue and Customs warned pensioners to stay alert for scams as the recovery of Winter Fuel Payments began this month. The agency urged caution regarding unsolicited texts or emails claiming to be from the revenue body.
- Nearly two million pensioners are expected to repay their Winter Fuel Payments for winter 2025 because their annual income is above £35,000. For most, recovery happens automatically through changes to their PAYE tax codes starting in April.
- Over the past 12 months, HMRC has recorded more than 25,000 Winter Fuel Payment scam referrals. Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC's Chief Customer Officer, said, "Criminals are great pretenders and often use fake letters, emails, calls and texts to impersonate HMRC."
- Anyone unsure about their status should use HMRC's checking tool at GOV.UK rather than contacting the agency directly. HMRC confirmed it will never send texts or emails requesting bank details or repayment.
- Self Assessment filers should see the payment pre-populated in returns due by January 31, 2027, while paper filers must manually add it on returns due by October 31, 2026. Recovery applies across the UK, including Scotland and Northern Ireland.
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Government warns pensioners of Winter Fuel Payment scams
More than 25,000 scams referred to HMRC in the last year, with criminals using the annual repayment process as a hook for the unwary. The government has warned pensioners to beware of texts, emails and phone calls relating to paying back Winter Fuel Payments – as they could be scams. Winter Fuel…
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Total News Sources11
Leaning Left1Leaning Right0Center4Last UpdatedBias Distribution80% Center
Bias Distribution
- 80% of the sources are Center
80% Center
L 20%
C 80%
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