DWP warning for Universal Credit claimants expecting £301 cost of living payment next week

Universal Credit claimants are being warned that benefit sanctions could exclude them from cost of living payments next week.

From April 25, the Government will roll out its first cost of living payment worth £301 to millions of people. The tax-free payment will be handed out automatically to those who receive means-tested benefits such as Universal Credit and Tax Credits.

However, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has clarified that simply being eligible for means-tested benefits is not enough to receive the payment. According to the Government department, you will be excluded from this first round of payment if your benefit was reduced to £0 during the qualifying period between January 26, 2023, and February 25, 2023.

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The key reason this will exclude you from the cost of living payment is if it was because you got a 'sanction' due to not doing something you agreed on with your claimant commitment, reports the Manchester Evening News. This is also sometimes known as a 'nil award' which can be applied to your benefit for other reasons that won't make you eligible for the cost of living payment, including the following:

• You got more than one payment of earnings in your Universal Credit assessment period
• Your or your partner’s earnings went up
• Your or your partner’s savings went up
• You started getting another benefit
• You got a ‘sanction’ because you did not do something you agreed in your claimant commitment

Despite this, you may still be considered eligible if you had a 'hardship payment' because of the sanction. Furthermore, you could also still be eligible if the money was taken off your benefit for other reasons such as payment for rent to your landlord or money that you owe.

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