Millions of Brits could be eligible for extra cost of living help as bills and food costs remain exceptionally high.
The Government is offering five different payments for under-pressure households during the 2023/2024 financial year, it's been confirmed.
Among these is a £301 cost of living payment for people on benefits such as Universal Credit, which was given out by the DWP from April 25 to May 17 - though some say they are only just now receiving it because they were missed out the first time or only later became eligible because of a new benefit claim being backdated.
A one-off sum of £150 is also being paid into accounts of people on disability benefits, such as the Personal Independence Payment, between June and July 4.
You have to have been eligible for the benefits on April 1, or have a later claim backdated to cover that date, to receive either payment.
Nationally, around eight million households qualify for the £301 amount while 6.7 million individuals are eligible for the sum of £150.
Who qualifies for the £301 payment?
People on Universal Credit, income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), Income Support, Pension Credit, Child Tax Credit or Working Tax Credit may be eligible for the payments.
The one-off payments were made between April 25 and May 17, though for people on tax credits there was a narrower payment window of May 2 to 9.
Some are being made later where people became eligible with more recent benefit claims that were backdated, or if they were eligible but somehow missed out from the initial rollout.
To qualify, you need to have received a payment of those benefits between January 26 and February 25 or, in the case of Universal Credit, an assessment period that ended between those dates.
You would not have been eligible for the cost of living payment however if your benefit was reduced to zero in that qualifying period - also known as a nil award.
Reasons your Universal Credit may be reduced to £0 include getting paid twice in an assessment period, your earnings or savings suddenly going up, you started receiving another benefit that pushed up your overall income and disqualified you from Universal Credit, or you were sanctioned for breaking rules such as failing to attend a jobcentre appointment.
But if you had a nil award because of a rent payment or debt deductions, you could still qualify for the payment.
Who qualifies for the £150 payment?
The disability cost of living payment of £150 is going to people getting any of the following benefits: Personal Independence Payment, Disability Living Allowance for adults, Disability Living Allowance for children, Attendance Allowance, Constant Attendance Allowance, Adult Disability Payment (in Scotland), Child Disability Payment (in Scotland), Armed Forces Independence Payment or War Pension Mobility Supplement.
In a rule change from the £301 payment, the cash is being paid per claim not per household.
It's dropping into people's accounts up until July 4. You must have received a payment of one of the above benefits for April 1, 2023, in order to qualify.
Claims that are backdated to cover that date will also get the payment. There will be an opportunity to report a missing payment from July 5 after the rollout has ended.
Full cost of living payment schedule 2023/2024
- £301 paid between April 25 and May 17 for most people on DWP means-tested benefits
- £301 paid between May 2 and 9 for most people on HMRC tax credits and no other means-tested benefits
- £150 paid between June 20 and July 4 for people on disability benefits
- £300 paid during autumn 2023 for people on means-tested benefits - no exact dates yet announced
- £300 paid in November and December to pensioners who get Winter Fuel Payment
- £299 paid during spring 2024 for people on means-tested benefits - no exact dates yet announced
