Details of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) cost of living payments for the 2023-24 financial year have been announced with more than eight million households across the UK eligible for the support. The £900 handout, which will be split into three payments, will start from from spring this year.
The payment was announced by chancellor Jeremy Hunt in his autumn statement in November and will be given to around eight million people on means-tested benefits including those on universal credit, pension credit, and tax credits. The first payment of £301 will be made in spring 2023 followed by a second of £300 in the autumn 2003 and a final instalment of £299 in spring 2024. There will also be a separate £150 payment for more than six million people with disabilities in summer 2023 and £300 for more than eight million pensioners in winter 2023-24.
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Exact payment windows will be announced closer to the time, the UK Government said, adding that payments will be spread to ensure consistent support throughout the year. The department added that £900 payment is being delivered in three slightly different amounts, with the distinct values relating to a specific qualifying period, so it is simpler to determine if a payee received the correct payments thus reducing the risk of fraud.
Eligible individuals do not need to apply for payments as they are made automatically. 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.
The payment schedule by the DWP is as follows:
- £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 2023-24
- £299 – Third 2023-24 cost of living payment – during spring 2024
These payments will all be tax-free, will not count towards the benefit cap, and will not have any impact on existing benefit awards. As well as the eight million households receiving the cost of living payment six million people on qualifying disability benefits will receive a disability cost of living payment of £150 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, and war pension mobility supplement.
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."
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