The first cost of living payments of 2023 will be paid from tomorrow, with millions of people seeing £301 landing in their bank accounts. The Government is giving some people £900 towards the rising cost of living, divided into three payments, with the first now being paid.
The money will arrive in accounts between April 25 and May 17, reports The Mirror. In order to receive the money, you must be claiming certain means-tested benefits during a qualifying period.
The benefits are:
- Universal Credit
- Income-based Jobseekers Allowance
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- Income Support
- Pension Credit
If you claim Tax Credits from HMRC and no benefits from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) then you’ll receive your £301 at a later date.
You need to have been entitled to a payment, or later found to have been entitled, between January 26 and February 25, to receive the money.
For those claiming Universal Credit, this counts as the qualifying assessment period.
But you will not be eligible for the cost of living payment if your benefit is reduced to £0 for the qualifying period.
This is often referred to as a "nil award".
Some people could become eligible for the cost of living payment if they later backdate a benefit claim.
The DWP has said that those who put in a claim for Pension Credit before May 19 this year, will be automatically eligible to get the first £301 payment.
This is because Pension Credit can be backdated for three months, which would then cover the earlier qualifying period for the cash.
Those who receive just Working Tax Credit or Child Tax Credit from HMRC are also eligible for the £301.
However, HMRC will pay this first instalment at a later date - these households will receive the cash between May 2 and May 9.
The £301 cost of living payment will show as "DWP COLP" in your bank account along with your National Insurance number.
Your National Insurance number is nine digits long and starts with two letters, followed by six numbers and one letter.
The cost of living cash will be paid in the same way as your usual benefit payment, so into the same bank account where you get normal payments.
The code for HMRC payments is very similar and will show as "HMRC COLS".
Dates for the second and third instalment of the £900 cost of living payments - set to be worth £300 and £299 - will be in summer 2023 and spring 2024.
There will be a disability cost of living payment worth £150 being sent out during summer 2023.
This includes those in receipt of 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
There will also be a £300 pensioner cost of living payment to all eligible households that get a Winter Fuel Payment.
The dates for both the £150 disability and £300 pensioner cost of living payments have not yet been confirmed.
