The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) recently announced the 2023/24 timetable for new cost of living payments aimed at helping millions of households across the country mitigate soaring inflation and high energy bills. The first part of the £900 means-tested payment is worth £301 and will start to land automatically in over eight million bank accounts from April 25 until May 17, 2023.
The DWP is also encouraging low-income pensioners not already getting Pension Credit to check their eligibility, as they can still qualify for the £301 cost of living payment - if they make a successful backdated Pension Credit claim by May 19, 2023. This is because Pension Credit is a retrospective benefit that can be backdated by up to three months, taking it to the final day of the qualifying period of February 25, 2023.
During a recent debate on ‘support for women in poverty’ DWP Minister Mims Davies MP shared with the cross-party Committee of MPs that take-up of applications for Pension Credit have increased by 66 per cent.