With the recent announcement and schedule for the next wave of cost of living payments by the Department for Work & Pensions, Bristol Live recently reported that some eight million families were expected to receive the first £301 payment this spring. However, not everyone claiming benefits will automatically qualify for the £900 means-tested payment.
The Daily Record reports that the first of the payments will be made to claimants on qualifying benefits, including Universal Credit, Pension Credit and Tax Credits, adding that the gov.uk guidance indicates that eligibility for the 2023/24 cost of living payments will follow the same criteria as last year. This means that claimants will need to be in receipt of Universal Credit, along with their non-qualifying benefit to receive the first payment of £301 in a few weeks.
The guidance states: "You will not get a payment if you were getting New Style Employment and Support Allowance, contributory Employment and Support Allowance, or New Style Jobseeker's Allowance, unless you were getting Universal Credit as well." Here is more information around who isn't eligible and why, as well as the upcoming payment schedule and how to check...
Read more: DWP cost of living payments: 8 million families to receive first £301 this spring
Universal Credit 'nil awards'
You will not be eligible for the upcoming cost of living payment if your Universal Credit is reduced to £0 for the qualifying assessment period. This is often referred to as a 'nil award' and this may happen if:
- You're getting more than one payment of earnings
- Your earnings, or your partner's earnings, increase
- Your savings, or your partner's savings, increase
- You start receiving another benefit
However, if money has been taken off for other reasons, such as payments of rent to your landlord or for money you owe, you may still be eligible. Almost 551,000 Universal Credit claimants missed out on the first cost of living payment of £326 last summer because of a nil award.
The DWP has previously explained that the £900 payment will be made up of three differing amounts - £301, £300 and £299 - relating to specific qualifying periods in order to make it easier to determine if an individual has received the correct payments. It also means that Universal Credit claimants in work may be able to qualify for one or more of the payments, especially if they don't always receive a 'nil award'.
Cost of living payment schedule
- £301: First means-tested payment due this spring
- £150: Disability payment due this summer
- £300: Second means-tested payment due this autumn
- £300: Pensioner payment will be added to 2023/24 Winter Fuel Payment
- £299: Third means-tested payment due spring 2024
There are several benefits that could make claimants eligible for the £301 cost of living payment, including Universal Credit and Tax Credits - through which 5.4 million households across the UK are expected to qualify, and Pension Credit, through which 1.4 million pensioner households are expected to be paid. Some 1.3 million claimants will be eligible through legacy DWP benefits such as Jobseekers Allowance and Income Support, reaching a total of 8.1 million households.
What's more, eligible individuals do not need to apply for payments, as they are made automatically and those eligible for cost of living payments through Tax Credits, and no other means-tested benefits, will be paid by HMRC shortly after DWP payments are made. You can read more about eligible claimants here.
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- Cold Weather Payments - what are they and who can get them?
