MILLIONS of low-income households should have already started receiving the first half of the £650 cost of living payment.
While official guidance suggests you could get the payment this week – many people may be left waiting a little longer.
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The £650 payment is part of the £1,500 in support announced by the former Chancellor Rishi Sunak.
The support is intended to help those on the lowest incomes and ease their bill hell due to the rising cost of living and extortionate hikes to energy bills.
You’re eligible for the payment if you claim any of the following benefits:
- Universal credit
- Income-based jobseeker’s allowance (JSA)
- Income-related employment and support allowance (ESA)
- Income support
- Pension credit
- Child tax credit
- Working tax credit
To get the £650 payment, you will need to be in receipt of any of these eligible benefit payments as of May 25 this year, or have started a claim by this date and later be successful.
The total cost of living support is £650 but as it’s being split into two lump sums you’ll only get the first half valued at £326 this month.
You’ll have to wait until the Autumn to receive the remaining £324 on offer and the government are yet to announce any specific dates as to when this’ll be paid.
In the meantime, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) started paying £326 to those eligible on Thursday (July 14) – but it’s unlikely everyone will be paid the cash at the same time.
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There are two leading reasons as to why you may be waiting to cash in on the £326.
Payments can take up to two week
Even though the cost of living payment has started to be processed by the DWP, they can’t pay everyone eligible at once.
If you’ve not seen the £326 drop into your bank account under the reference “DWP Cost of Living”, don’t panic. You won’t need to do anything in the meantime.
You’ll still be paid automatically in the same way you usually get your benefits and you should receive the cash by July 31.
As millions are eligible for the payment, the DWP has staggered paying out the cash between July 14 and July 31 – so everybody should expect to have been paid by the end of the month.
The government said it expects only a “small minority” of cases where payment isn’t made by the end of July, and only where people have very unique or complicated circumstances.
On tax credits? You won’t be paid until the Autumn
Those in receipt of child tax credits and working tax credits won’t receive the £326 payment this month.
You’ll have to to wait until the Autumn to cash in on the first lump sum of the cost of living payment.
The cash will be paid later to avoid people getting paid twice if they get other benefits on top of tax credits.
The remaining £324 payment will then follow in Winter.
