A warning has been sent out to people who have received cost of living payments.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) says that anyone who has been given the money by accident will have to pay it back. From June 20 onwards, more than six million people on disability benefits have been issued automatic payments of £150.
The final payments are expected on July 4 though some may arrive later depending on special circumstances. However, in an update on the official cost of living payments 2023/24 page on GOV.UK, the DWP warns that “if you receive a Disability Cost of Living Payment, but we later find that you were not eligible for it, you may have to pay it back”.
Read More: Every DWP cost of living payment and other benefits hitting bank accounts in July
This advice may be due to statistics published in the new ‘Fraud and Error in the benefits system’ report which estimates that £410 million (4.9%) in cost of living payments (across all benefits) were overpaid during the 2022/23 financial year. The total UK Government expenditure on cost of living payments last year was £8.4 billion.
The report estimates that overpayments due to fraud accounted for £310 million (3.7%) while overpayments due to claimant error and official error were estimated at £60 million (0.8%) and £40 million (0.5%) respectively, reports the Daily Record.
Overpayments relating to incorrectly paid low-income benefits accounted for around £9 in every £10 overpaid on cost of living payments, some £380 million. This was mostly due to £330 million of cost of living payments being overpaid to people incorrectly receiving Universal Credit.
Eligibility rules for £150 disability cost of living payment
To be eligible for the £150 payment, you must be in receipt of one of the benefits listed below:
- Attendance Allowance
- Constant Attendance Allowance
- Disability Living Allowance for adults
- Disability Living Allowance for children
- Personal Independence Payment
- Adult Disability Payment (in Scotland)
- Child Disability Payment (in Scotland)
- Armed Forces Independence Payment
- War Pension Mobility Supplement
Qualifying period
To be eligible for the automatic lump sum, claimants must have received a payment (or later found to be eligible) on April 1, 2023. For those people awaiting confirmation of their entitlement to disability benefits on April 1, or who are waiting to be assessed for eligibility to receive disability benefits, the payment process may take longer and arrive after the scheduled window closes on July 4, but the money will still arrive automatically.
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