Cost of living payments have been a lifeline for many households in the last year and more payments are coming throughout 2023 and 2024.
The cost of living continues to be at a record high for Brits with inflation still in double figures and energy bills at the highest they have ever been at £2,500.
The new cost of living support payments are worth £1,350 overall and will go out to millions of households in the next financial year, starting from April.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt confirmed in his spring budget that a £94billion package had been put in place to support struggling households.
In his speech, the Chancellor said that cost of living payments from the previous year, combined with the extension of the £2,500 Energy Price Guarantee and the uprating of benefits, meant that every household in the country will have benefited from an average of £3,300 worth of support.
What are the cost of living payments and how much are they?
Between 2023 and 2024 there will be a cost of living payment worth £900, up from the £650 paid to eligible households last year.
The £900 payment will be paid in three instalments across the year with the first coming in Spring this year, the second in autumn and the third in spring of 2024.
These payments will be worth £301, £299, and £300.
The Government will also be paying another £150 to over six million disabled people through the disability cost of living payment.
Another £300 will be paid to over eight million pensioners through the pensioner cost of living payment.
When will the cost of living payments be paid?
The DWP announced that the first cost of living instalment will be paid to eligible households between April 25 and May 17.
Dates for the second and third instalments of the cost of living payment - set to be worth £300 and £299 - have yet to be announced.
Those claiming HMRC benefits will have the first instalment at a later date, which has yet to be confirmed.
The £150 disability cost of living payment is expected to be paid to those eligible in the summer of this year, whilst the £300 pensioner support will be paid during the winter.
Again, the exact dates for these payments have not yet been confirmed by the DWP.
Who will get the next cost of living payments?
The cost of living payment criteria is the same as last year's payments and will be given to those who are claiming certain means-tested benefits.
You should receive the £900 cash if you claim:
- Income-based jobseeker’s allowance
- Income-related employment and support allowance
- Income support
- Pension credit
- Tax credits (child tax credit and working tax credit)
- Universal Credit
Those who receive just Working Tax Credit or Child Tax Credit - so no DWP benefits - are also eligible for the £301.
For the first payment, you need to have been entitled to the benefit between January 26 and February 25, or received a payment for an assessment period ending between these dates.
Low-income pensioners not already getting Pension Credit can still qualify for the £301 if they backdate a Pension Credit application by May 19.
To get the £150 disability payment, you'll need to be claiming:
- Adult disability payment (in Scotland)
- Armed forces independence payment
- Attendance allowance
- Child disability payment (in Scotland)
- Constant attendance allowance
- Disability living allowance
- Personal independence payment
- War pension mobility supplement
Again, we don't know if there will be a "qualifying window" during which you need to have been in receipt of these benefits.
The £300 pensioner cost of living payment will be awarded to anyone who gets Winter Fuel Payments.
The Winter Fuel Payment is worth up to £300 normally, with how much you receive depending on your age and living arrangements.
This means those who are eligible for the Winter Fuel payment, could get extra cash worth up to £600 to help with the cost of living.
It is understood that letters will be sent out in October or November this year to inform those who are eligible of how much they will receive.
