PENSIONERS will receive a £300 cash boost this month to help them pay for bills amidst the cost of living crisis.
The “Pensioner Cost of Living payment” is being handed out to eight million people.
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The cash boost was announced by the government in May as part of a raft of supportive measures for vulnerable households.
Pensioners who normally get the Winter Fuel Payment qualify for the help.
The £300 cost of living payment will be paid on top of this – which means eligible households will see their payments at least double.
Below, we explain what you need to know about the help and when you should expect it in your bank account.
Who is eligible for the £300 winter fuel discount?
You’ll get the £300 help if you get the Winter Fuel Payment. You receive the Winter Fuel Payment if:
- you were born on or before 25 September 1956
- you lived in the UK for at least one day during the week of 19 to 25 September 2022 in what is known as the “qualifying week”
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You may still be eligible if you lived in Switzerland or another EEA country in that period.
However, you won’t get the payment automatically and will have to apply.
The same goes for if you can prove you have a sufficient link with the UK, like having lived and worked here, or have family here, but were not living here in the qualifying week.
You won’t get the payment if you live in the following countries though because of the warm weather there: Cyprus, France, Gibraltar, Greece, Malta, Portugal or Spain.
Nor will you get the payment if you are in hospital for more than a year getting free treatment and in some other circumstances.
You can find more about who is eligible on gov.uk.
When will I get the £300 discount?
You’ll get £300 boost from this month.
For most pensioner households, this will be paid via a direct debit payment.
It will be added as a top up to your annual Winter Fuel Payment, which is paid around this time.
Payments will be made directly to households – so you don’t have to do anything.
It will be paid in addition to any other cost of living support you are already entitled to.
That means for the eight million households on Universal Credit and other means-tested benefits getting the £650 cost of living payment, some will get the £300 on top.
While people with disabilities will get a £150 one-off payment from today.
We’ve also added a breakdown of the Winter Fuel payment 2022-2023, which varies depending on your circumstances. We’ve listed who will get what, according to the government. And remember this is paid alongside your extra £300 boost:
- You qualify and live alone – £500 to £600
- You qualify alongside someone you live with who is under 80 and also qualifies – £250 to £350
- You qualify and live with someone over 80 who also qualifies – £250 to £300
- If either you or your partner also receive benefits – £500 to £600 (this amount is the same if someone you live with who isn’t your partner receives certain benefits)
- If you qualify but live in a care home and don’t get benefits – £250 to £300
The amount you’ll receive really depends on the date you were born, but you can easily check here for more details.
The payment comes as millions of households have started receiving a £400 energy bill discount.
It will replace current plans for a £200 energy rebate, which households were told they would have had to pay back over five years.
