MILLIONS of households will get their benefits payments early in the coming weeks.
May 1 is a bank holiday which means no benefits will be paid that day.
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The Department for Work and Pensions will deliver some benefits into bank accounts earlier than usual this month.
Because May 1 is a bank holiday, it’s confirmed those who are due their benefit on the first will receive theirs on April 28 instead.
This counts for any of the following 12 benefits:
- Attendance Allowance
- Carer’s Allowance
- Child Benefit
- Disability Living Allowance
- Employment and Support Allowance
- Income Support
- Jobseeker’s Allowance
- Pension Credit
- Personal Independence Payment
- State Pension
- Tax Credits (such as Working Tax Credit)
- Universal Credit
Income Support, Jobseekers’s Allowance and Pension Credit usually arrive every two weeks while the rest arrive every four weeks, so it just depends when your normal payment date is.
And keep in mind there are more bank holidays in May to watch out for too.
If you’re due money on King Charles III’s coronation day (May 8) payments will be made on May 5 instead.
And there’s also the spring bank holiday on May 29, when payments have been shifted forward to May 26 instead.
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If you don’t receive your benefit payment one working day before the bank holiday, you should contact DWP directly.
You can also submit a complaint to them to get a problem sorted if your payment is wrong.
Will my benefit payment amount change?
No, the amount you’re due should remain the same.
It will only be different if you’ve had a change in circumstances since your last payment, which you’ll need to alert the DWP of.
You don’t need to do anything if your usual date for getting the state pension falls on a bank holiday.
Don’t forget that if you get paid early then you’ll have to make the money you get go further as you’ll have extra days to wait until your next payment date.
Make sure you factor this into your budget.
If your money is not paid on time, then you should double check the date you get paid normally and contact your bank.
Failing that, you should contact the DWP.
You can also submit a complaint to the DWP over any unpaid benefits.
Other payments in May
You should expect to see the first chunk of the £900 cost of living payment land in accounts between April 25 and May 17.
It’s £301 and it’s for households receiving certain benefits, including Universal Credit.
The payments are part of a package of wider Government support announced to tackle the cost of living.
It includes a further £300 payment for eligible families in autumn, and then a payment of £299 in spring 2024.
There will also be a £150 cost of living payment for eligible people with certain disabilities.
Millions are also in line for a separate £150 payment into their bank account to help with the rising cost of energy bills.
Around four in five households in England in council tax bands A to D should get the payment.
It’s been dished out since April 1 but many councils have had to wait to process payments, meaning many will come through in May instead.
