Millions of households have already received a £301 Cost of Living support payment from the government and next month, more payments will arrive from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) into bank accounts.
Earlier this month, the DWP and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) made some 8.3 million Cost of Living payments for 2023/24. These payments are made to people receiving eligible means tested benefits in a bid to tackle the crisis, with a second £300 payment scheduled in autumn and £299 due in spring 2024.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt confirmed £94billion worth of support packages during his Spring Budget which are available for struggling families while the Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) is also being extended. Here is the support available for UK households this June, the Independent reports.
Read more: Martin Lewis explains what it means for you as energy bills slashed
Some could receive up to £1,350 in financial help, despite the end of the Energy Bill Support Scheme. As well as the £900 Cost of Living payments, paid in three separate installments over 12 months, there is also a separate £150 one-off payment for more than six million people claiming disability benefits, while 8 million pensioners are due an additional £300.
The DWP has confirmed the expected timeframe for these payments, with more precise dates to be issued later this year:
- £301 – First Cost of Living payment – already issued between April 25 and May 17 (or May 2 to 9 for people on tax credits but no other low-income benefits)
- £150 – Disability payment – during summer 2023
- £300 – Second cost of living payment – during autumn 2023
- £300 – Pensioner payment – during winter 2023/24
- £299 – Third cost of living payment – during spring 2024
The energy price guarantee is still in place, though Ofgem today (May 25) announced the energy price cap will be lowered below the £2,500 cut off point from July 1. Mr Hunt announced in the Spring Budget that the EPG would be extended for a further three months. It was first introduced by former Prime Minister Liz Truss in September 2022 to ensure households paid no more than £2,500 for their electricity and gas.
The government subsidises the remainder owed to providers under Ofgem’s Energy Price Cap. The Chancellor had reportedly been tempted to increase the EPG to £3,000 to help ease the financial burden on the state but ultimately decided to extend the guarantee until June.
Without that help in place, the average household would have been paying an annualised bill of £4,279 between January and April. With the EPG, this has been reduced to £2,500 with the government picking up the remaining £1,779. The new cap will be introduced from July 1 and will bring rates down ever lower, to £2,074 per year.
What is the new energy price cap and what does it mean?
Benefits going out as usual
The DWP will continue to send the usual benefits and pensions payments in June with no bank holidays scheduled to confuse delivery dates like in May. Anyone expecting to receive any of the following from the DWP can expect their money on the usual date this month.
- Universal Credit
- State Pension
- Pension Credit
- Disability Living Allowance
- Personal Independence Payment
- Attendance Allowance
- Carer’s Allowance
- Employment Support Allowance
- Income Support
- Jobseeker’s Allowance
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