The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has issued a Universal Credit warning ahead of the upcoming £301 Cost of Living payment.
More than 8 million people across the UK are set to receive the cash, which is the first instalment of three that will total £900 across the 2023-2024 financial year. This first payment will go out between April 25 and May 17 to those on means-tested benefits.
These include Universal Credit, income-based Jobseekers Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support, Working Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit and Pension Credit, Birmingham Live reports.
READ MORE: HMRC confirms when all three Cost of Living payments will arrive
To be eligible, people must have received one of those benefits in an earlier qualifying timeframe of January 26 to February 25. In the case of Universal Credit, people must have had an assessment period ending between those two dates.
And this means some Universal Credit claimants could miss out on the cash if they have a "nil award", where benefits reduced to zero, for this period.
Updated guidance on GOV.UK explains: "You will not be eligible for the Cost of Living Payment if your benefit is reduced to £0 for the qualifying period. This is sometimes called a nil award."
Reasons your benefit may be reduced to £0 include:
- you received more than one payment of earnings in your Universal Credit assessment period - this can happen with some months where a wage goes in at the beginning and at the end due to the way pay dates happen to fall
- your or your partner's wages went up so you earned too much to get any Universal Credit
- your or your partner's savings went up - DWP rules reduce Universal Credit if savings exceed £6,000 and stop it altogether if they go over £16,000
- you started getting another benefit that meant your total income was too high for you to get any Universal Credit
- you got a sanction that cut your benefits because you did not do something you agreed in your claimant commitment - this could be failing to show up for a jobcentre appointment, training course, or job interview, or refusing a job offer. From 20 per cent to 100 per cent of a claimant's benefits can be cut if a sanction is imposed.
However, you may still be eligible for a cost of living payment if your benefit is reduced to £0 and one of the following applies:
- money was taken off your benefit for other reasons, such as payments of rent to your landlord or for money that you owe
- you had a hardship payment because you got a sanction and could not pay for rent, heating, food or hygiene needs
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