From today (July 14) nearly a quarter of households across the UK - including Scotland - will receive £326 in their bank accounts.
It comes as part of the first instalment of the £650 sum delivered by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in a bid to help struggling households as the cost of living rises.
Other people such as pensioners and those with a disability will also be entitled to a payment of £300 and £150 respectively later this year as part of the Government's £37 billion support package. The second payment, which is set to be paid in the autumn with an exact date yet to be announced, will see another payment of £324.
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However despite many seeing the money drop in their bank accounts today with just over eight million households qualifying, not everyone will be entitled to the payment. Concern for who will get the money and who will not comes as the likes of energy and shopping bills go up with fuel costs also rising.
So who is entitled to the payment and who isn't? Here's what you need to know.
Who will get the £60 'Cost of Living' payment and who won't?
The Government's thinking is that these people are the least well-off and need the £650 the most. However this still leaves millions of people on other benefits without the help of the extra Government cash.
The list of benefits eligible for the £650 are:
- Universal Credit
- Income-based Jobseekers Allowance
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- Income Support
- Working Tax Credit
- Child Tax Credit
- Pension Credit
The list of benefits where claimants won't get the £650 are:
- Attendance Allowance
- Carer's Allowance
- Child Benefit
- Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
- 'New style' Employment and Support Allowance
- Guardian's Allowance
- 'New style' Jobseeker's Allowance
- Maternity Allowance
- Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
- State pension
- Statutory sick pay
- Statutory adoption, maternity, paternity and shared parental pay
According to the Mirror, if you get Housing Benefit, but no other benefit, you are also not eligible for the £650. This is because this type of benefit is means-tested so claimants should be due cost of living payments.
If you are in this position, the Chancellor has advised people to apply to the Household Support Fund which is a sum of emergency cash handed out by local councils to people who are in need.
Those who claim Tax Credits - so Working Tax Credit or Child Tax Credit - are expected to get their £650 cost of living payment slightly later. Tax Credits claimants will receive their first payment in autumn, with a second payment to follow in winter.
I'm not eligible for the £650 payment so what help can I get?
If you claim certain disability benefits, there is a £150 cost of living payment due in September. Pensioners in receipt of Winter Fuel Payments will get an extra £300.
Every home in England, Scotland and Wales will also have £400 deducted from their energy bills, spread out over six months from October. However rather than receiving money into your bank account, the sum will instead be directly applied to your energy account.
Direct debit and credit customers will have the money credited to their account while those with pre-payment meters will have the money added to their meter or paid in the form of a voucher. This is in replacement of the £200 'loan-not-loan' that had originally been announced last year by the Chancellor.
Other help is also available through the Household Support Fund, which is being paid out by local councils where each local authority decides who to give the money to as well as how the money should be spent. The help on offer does vary, but can include cash grants and supermarket vouchers.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak extended the Household Support Fund as part of a wider £15billion package to tackle the cost of living crisis. Speak to your council to see what help it offers and if you’re eligible for support.
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