THERE are just hours left for a free £300 cash boost to be paid to millions of households.
It is the second cost of living payment from the Government being made to eligible Brits on benefits including Universal Credit.
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Eligible households will not have to do anything to get the cash as it will land in bank accounts automatically.
Some people may have already received it as the second round of payments started being issued on October 31.
The tax-free cash will show up on your bank statements as your National Insurance number followed by either DWP COL or HMRC COLS.
If your household is on tax credits and eligible for the payment you should receive your payment between November 10 and 19.
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This will be paid by HMRC instead of the DWP to ensure that those qualifying for benefits and tax credits do not get the payment twice.
The full list of benefits that qualify you for the £300 payment is:
- Universal Credit
- Income-based jobseekers allowance
- Income-related employment and support allowance
- Income Support
- Working Tax Credit
- Child Tax Credit
- Pension Credit
To qualify for the cash you need to have been entitled to one of these benefits between August 18 and September.
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The latest £300 payment is the second instalment of three totalling £900.
Eligible households should have already been paid the first instalment in the spring, while the third payment of £299 is set to be paid before spring 2024.
If you think should have received a cost of living payment but cannot see anything on your bank statement you can report it.
You will need your National Insurance number to hand and you can log your query on the government’s website.
This latest round of payments comes after millions on the same benefits were issued a £650 payment in 2022.
It is also worth noting that around 850,000 are not claiming Pension Credit when they are eligible for it.
Claiming Pension Credit makes you eligible for the £300 cost of living payment, so thousands are missing out.
It might be worth checking if you could be eligible to claim Pension Credit and qualify for the cash boost.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) previously told The Sun households should put in a claim by December 10.
Any later than this, and it may not be able to process your application in time and any backdated claim for Pension Credit may not meet the qualifying period for the £300 cost of living payment.
Other help that is available
There is other help out there if you find yourself struggling.
Millions of pensioners will get a Winter Fuel Payment worth up to £600 in the coming months.
If you were born before September 25, 1957, you may have already received a letter telling you how much you will get.
Letters were being issued in October and November, and most households do not need to do anything as the payment will be made automatically.
You do not need to do anything if you get any of the following:
- State Pension
- Pension Credit
- Attendance Allowance
- Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
- Carers Allowance
- Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
- Income Support
- income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
- awards from the War Pensions Scheme
- Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
- Incapacity Benefit
- Industrial Death Benefit
If you do not get any of these, you need to claim if either:
- you’ve not got the Winter Fuel Payment before
- you’ve deferred your State Pension since your last Winter Fuel Payment
You may also need to claim even if you are on one of the above benefits and live abroad.
Check out the Government’s website for more details on countries where you can claim the payment from.
Other cost of living support is available through the Household Support Fund which is a pot of money worth £842million.
The cash has been dished out to local councils by the government to support people who are most vulnerable in the community.
Each council decides on how to allocate the money so what you can get does vary depending on where you live.
Some cash payments are made directly into bank accounts while other support comes in the way of food or energy vouchers.
The Household Support Fund is there to support vulnerable households who are struggling.
If you think this could be you, it is worth getting in touch with your local council to make sure you are not missing out.
You can find what council authority you fall under by using the Government’s locator tool online.
