Millions of benefits claimants will be getting a £900 cost of living payment from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) throughout this year and next. The DWP has confirmed that the payment will be split into three instalments - with the first payment of £301 to be made in the spring.
The DWP has this week issued an update confirming that more than eight million households will be eligible to receive the money. It comes as legislation setting out the move made its way through Parliament on Tuesday, paving the way for the first payments to be made in the coming months.
An exact date for when the first payment of £301 will hit bank accounts has not yet been confirmed. A second payment of £300 is due in autumn, and a third payment of £299 is expected to be paid during spring 2024. Those who are eligible for the payments include people on Universal Credit, Income Support and Tax Credits.
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In addition, the government will also hand out a £150 disability payment to people on disability benefits, due in the summer, and a pensioner cost of living payment to people in receipt of state pension during the winter. It brings the total amount a person could be eligible for from now until next spring to £1,350.
The government has calculated that around 8,097,000 households will be getting the £900 payment, including more than one million in the north west of England. More than 6.7 million people are expected to get the disability payment, which will be given to people on Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment, Attendance Allowance and other disability benefits.
Work and Pensions Secretary, Mel Stride said: “These direct payments will help people right across the UK over this year and the start of the next, as we continue to provide consistent, targeted and substantial support for the most vulnerable.
“Our wider support package, including the Energy Price Guarantee, will ensure every household is being helped through this challenging period of high inflation, caused by Putin’s illegal war and the aftershocks of the pandemic.”
Who is eligible for payments?
There are several benefits that could make claimants eligible for the £301 Cost of Living Payment, such as:
Universal Credit
Income-based Jobseekers Allowance
Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
Income Support
Working Tax Credit
Child Tax Credit
Pension Credit
The £150 disability payment will be paid to people on one of the following benefits:
- Disability Living Allowance
- Personal Independence Payment
- Attendance Allowance
- Scottish Disability Benefits
- Armed Forces Independence Payment
- Constant Attendance Allowance
- War Pension Mobility Supplement
The £300 Pensioner Cost of Living Payment will be paid to all households in receipt of Winter Fuel Payments, in the same way as 2022/23 payments were made.
When will payments be made?
Exact payment windows and qualifying periods for eligibility are yet to be announced, but the DWP has set out a general timetable for when payments will be made.
- £301 – First 2023/24 Cost of Living Payment – during Spring 2023
- £150 – 2023 Disability Payment – during Summer 2023
- £300 – Second 2023/24 Cost of Living Payment – during Autumn 2023
- £300 – 2023 Pensioner Payment – during Winter 2023/4
- £299 – Third 2023/24 Cost of Living Payment – during Spring 2024
Those eligible for cost of living payments through tax credits, and no other means-tested benefits, will be paid by HMRC shortly after DWP payments are made.
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