MILLIONS of struggling households will soon start receiving cash payments to help with the rising cost of living.
The government has confirmed that the second half of the £650 cost of living payment will start being dished out from November 8.
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The first £326 instalment was dropped into people’s bank accounts in July.
Those on tax credits were paid the help from September 2.
Around 7.2 million people are expected to benefit from the Department of Work and Pensions help.
You could be eligible for the payment if you claim Universal Credit, Job Seeker’s Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support, Pension Credit, Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit.
But if you don’t qualify, there are other payments on the way too.
There’s the £400 energy bill rebate, which is there to help with soaring energy bills.
From the start of October, households began to receive the discount.
A number of energy suppliers, including British Gas, E.ON, EDF and Shell Energy have confirmed how they’ll pay their customers.
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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.
The cash boost was first announced by former chancellor and wannabe PM Rishi Sunak in May.
Here are all the key dates for when you can expect to get your payments.
From October
From October, every household will start to benefit from a £400 energy bill discount.
However, the payments will be given out in six instalments between October and March.
Households will receive a £66 energy bill discount in October and November and a discount worth £67 in December, January, February and March.
The £400 discount is a grant you won’t have to pay back through higher energy bills in later years.
We’ve listed how the leading energy suppliers plan to pay households the discount and are waiting on others to respond.
The way you’ll be paid will depend on how you pay for your energy.
If you’re on a credit meter the discount will come off your bills, but if you’re on a prepayment meter you’ll get a voucher.
The price cap was frozen £2,500 on October 1 under the Energy Price Guarantee.
This will remain in place for the next two years.
It means a typical family will pay no more than £2,500 a year for their energy bills for the next two years, saving households £1,000 a year on average.
However, the cap is just on what firms can charge customers. Your bill could be higher, based on your energy usage.
November
From November 8, vulnerable households across the UK will receive a £324 cost of living cash boost.
The government says it aims to make all payments by November 23.
More than eight million families have already received the first cost of living payment, worth £326, which was sent out from July.
The second payment will automatically be paid into the bank accounts of those eligible.
This means if you are eligible, you will not need to do anything to receive the money.
Those receiving tax credits will be paid shortly after
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.
You can check out if you are eligible for the Winter Fuel payment in our explainer.
