MILLIONS are in line for up to £1,350 in free cash from spring – and the key payment dates have been revealed.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt unveiled the help – which will be paid directly into people’s bank accounts – in last year’s Autumn Statement.
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It includes a new £900 cost of living payment for those on benefits, another £300 for pensioners and a third for those with disabilities at £150.
The help is aimed to help soften the blow of high energy bills, food costs and other necessities.
It’s rare that households will qualify for all three payments but if you do, you’ll get the full £1,350 on offer and you’ll be automatically paid.
For example, if you claim pension credit and attendance allowance and are eligible for the winter fuel payment you’ll get the full amount.
There’s no need to apply for the help – instead, the DWP will be in touch.
The Department for Work and Pensions has revealed more detail on the key dates that millions of households will be paid the help.
Although exact payment dates have not been revealed, households have now been told which seasons they’ll be paid in.
The exact eligibility requirements, as well as bank codes you should look out for in your statement so you can check if you’ve been paid, will also be announced nearer the time.
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Announcing the key dates, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said: “I know these are tough times for families across the UK who are struggling to meet rising food and energy costs, driven by the aftershocks of Covid and Putin’s war in Ukraine.”
The payments will all be tax-free, will not count towards the benefit cap, and will not have any impact on your existing benefit awards.
Here’s the dates you’ll need to put in your diary.
Spring – first chunk of £900 cost of living payment
From spring this year, the first chunk of the £900 cost of living payment will be paid directly into claimants’ accounts.
Unlike last year’s help, this cost of living payment will be paid in three, not two, instalments.
More than eight million people will get the help direct to their bank accounts, and the £900 help will be paid over the financial year.
This is so hard-up households will get a “consistent support offering throughout the year”, the DWP said.
To be eligible for the payment, households will need to be claiming at least one of the following:
- Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- Income Support
- Pension Credit
- Tax Credits (Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit)
- Housing Benefit
- Council Tax Support
- Social Fund (Sure Start Maternity Grant, Funeral Payment, Cold Weather Payment)
- Universal Credit
For the previous payments, you had to be entitled or later found to be entitled to one of these benefits by a certain date.
This certain date will be announced nearer the time, the DWP said.
Summer – £150 disability payment
Over six million people with disabilities will receive a £150 payment this summer.
The exact eligibility criteria for getting the payment has not been revealed.
But those who qualified for last year’s £150 bill help received one of the following benefits:
- Attendance Allowance
- Constant Attendance Allowance
- Disability Living Allowance for adults
- Disability Living Allowance for children
- Personal Independence Payment
- Adult Disability Payment (in Scotland)
- Child Disability Payment (in Scotland)
- Armed Forces Independence Payment
- War Pension Mobility Supplement
More details will be announced in due course.
Autumn – second chunk of £900 cost of living payment
The second instalment of the £900 cost of living payment will be paid in autumn.
This second chunk is worth £300.
Again, further details about the qualifying benefit date for the help will be announced nearer the time.
Winter 2023/2024 – £300 pensioner payment
Millions of pensioners will receive another £300 cost of living payment.
This follows on from last year’s help which was given to households who normally get the Winter Fuel Payment.
It’s not yet known whether households will qualify if they normally receive the Winter Fuel Payment, as exact details have not been revealed yet.
You qualified for the last Pensioner Cost of Living payment if:
- You were born on or before September 25, 1956
- You lived in the UK for at least one day during the week of 19 to 25 September 2022 in what is known as the “qualifying week”
Spring 2024 – third instalment of £900 cost of living payment
Spring next year will see the final chunk of the £900 cost of living payment dished out.
It is worth £299.
Further details about the qualifying benefit date for the help will be announced nearer time.
