The Winter Fuel Payment is to help with fuel bills rather than to pay for Christmas but the Pension Service aims to pay 99 per cent. of all Winter Fuel Payments before Christmas. This Winter The Pension Service exceeded this target paying 99.98 per cent. of all cases by Christmas. Of the 12,360,293 customers eligible for an automatic Winter Fuel Payment, which should have been paid prior to Christmas, 2,352 customers (0.019 per cent.) did not receive their payment before Christmas.