MORE than seven million people have now had extra cash to help them cover the rising cost of bills and food.
The first half of the £650 cost of living payment is going out in July with a second instalment coming in Autumn.
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Most people on Universal Credit and certain other benefits will get the cash – with some exceptions.
You need to be getting one of these payments in the qualifying period, which is April 26 – May 25.
But crucially you need to have got a Universal Credit payment of at least a penny in this period.
Unfortunately there are some instances where the benefit can reduce to zero in an assessment period.
You still have an ongoing claim for the benefit, but for one month you get nothing.
If this happens at the same time as the cost of living payment qualifying period, then you won’t get the first lot of cash worth £326.
The government guidance explains: “You will not be eligible for the Cost of Living Payment if your earnings reduced your Universal Credit to £0 for the qualifying assessment period.
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“This is sometimes called a ‘nil award’.”
Here are the reason why you might get a nil award – and no cost of living payment.
You got a bonus
When you’re in work and on Universal Credit your payments are reduced the more you earn.
This is known as the taper rate and for every £1 you earn over a certain amount your Universal Credit payment is reduced by 55p.
You may have a certain amount you can earn first before the taper rate applies -this is known as the work allowance.
Otherwise it applies to all your earnings.
If you get a bonus payment this can push up your earning to an amount where your Universal Credit reduced to zero for the month.
Unfortunately if this happens at the same time that qualifying period for the cost of living payment, it could mean you don’t get the cash.
You worked overtime
The same could apply if you have done overtime in the period April 26 – May 25.
If you earn more than usual from working more hours, this could also reduce your Universal Credit to zero.
This means you could miss out on the first half of the cost of living cash worth £326.
You got a pay rise
Another reason you could earn more and therefore see your UC payment reduced to zero is if you got a pay rise.
Unfortunately the qualifying period for the cost of living payment falls between April and May.
At this time of year many companies give pay rises.
While this is good news as you’ll earn more over the year, it could push some to get zero UC and means they could just miss out on the extra cash.
You get paid every four weeks
A quirk of Universal Credit is that people who get paid every four weeks sometimes find two pay days fall in one monthly assessment period.
That means your UC could fall to zero in that month.
If it’s the same month as the cost of living payment qualifying period, you could miss out.
When you WILL get the cost of living cash with a Universal Credit nil award
There is an exception to the rule and some people who get a nil award will get the cost of living cash.
The government guidance says that if it’s reduced to zero because you have deductions like rent or money you owe, then you will get the payment.
How to check if you’re affected
You can go to your online journal to see what your award was during this period.
The government guidance says: “To get the first cost of living payment of £326, you must have been entitled to a payment (or later found to be entitled to a payment) of Universal Credit for an assessment period that ended in the period April 26 to May 25.”
Cost of living payments are still being made, so it’s worth waiting until the end of the month to see if a zero award affects you.
The deadline for most payments is July 31.
The government has said that it is “using a computer program to identify those eligible to receive a cost of living payment”.
It adds: “If you are not content with this you can contact the office that pays your benefit or tax credits to discuss it.”
You can ask your work coach what to do next if you think there is an error and you should have got the payment but havn’t.
If you do miss out because of a nil award you could be eligible for other help.
Check out our guide here, including cash grants worth hundreds of pounds.
If you’re not eligible for this first payment you could still get the second which is due in autumn and worth £324.
The exact date is yet to be announced and there will also be a second qualifying period for this instalment.
There will also me further cost of living payments including for every energy bill payer.
