MILLIONS of households on Universal Credit and benefits are due a £326 cost of living payment this month.
But the exact date at which you can expect to receive the cash will depend on the type of benefit payments your receive.
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The first instalment of the cost of living payment, worth £326, was paid to over eight million eligible households earlier this year.
And the majority are set to receive the next payment, worth £324, directly into their bank account between November 8 and 23.
This will include households who claim Universal Credit and several other types of means-tested benefits – but those receiving one type of benefit will need to wait a little longer.
Roughly one million households claiming tax credits will need till later in the month to get the second payment.
This is to avoid duplicate payments where people claim tax credits and another qualifying benefit.
Households receiving tax credits will start to receive the £324 payment from Wednesday, November 23.
Anyone who claims both types of the benefit – child tax credit and working tax credit – will have the payment made into the bank account where child tax credits are paid.
The second tranche of the cost of living payment will land automatically in your bank account if you are eligible – so you don’t need to do anything to get the help.
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Cost of living payments are tax-free, do not count towards the benefit cap and do not affect the amount you usually get from benefits.
Who’s eligible for the £324 cost of living payment?
The full £650 cash boost was announced by ex-Chancellor Rishi Sunak as part of a package of measures to help people through the cost of living crisis.
The first half of the cash help was paid earlier this year.
And anybody receiving the following benefits is eligible for the second half of the £650 cost of living payment:
- Income-based Jobseekers Allowance
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- Income Support
- Working Tax Credit
- Child Tax Credit
- Pension Credit
- Universal Credit
You must have been entitled, or later found to be entitled to any of these benefits, between August 26 and September 25 this year.
What other help is coming?
There’s the £400 energy bill rebate, which is there to help with soaring energy bills.
Households started to receive the discount from the start of October.
A number of energy suppliers, including British Gas, E.ON, EDF and Shell Energy have confirmed how they’ll pay their customers.
And pensioners are also set to get a helping hand with an extra £300 one-off payment during the winter months too.
The amount you get will depend on what you’re eligible for and could be more or less than that.
The most in need could up to £1,500 through the cost of living handouts.
A £300 one-off “Pensioner Cost of Living Payment” will be paid out to eight million pensioner households.
It will be given to those who already get the Winter Fuel Payment – which is worth between £100 and £300 for those over state pension age.
The extra £300 boost will be paid on top of this support which means some eligible households will see their payments double this winter.
