Thousands of people are reportedly missing out on a vital cost of living payment due to pay-related issues. The Department for Work and Pensions began rolling out the first instalment of its £650 cost of living payments to millions of people last week in a bid to help those hardest hit by cost of living increases.
The DWP confirmed on Thursday it had given out 7.2 million payments of £326 so far, equivalent to a total of £2.4 billion to households on low incomes in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The remaining eligible households will get their money before the end of the month, with the second instalment - £324 - to follow in the autumn.
However some universal credit claimants have reported that they will not be receiving the payments despite previously believing they were eligible, Birmingham Live reports.
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The problem centres on the qualifying period for this payment and whether it matches the way people get their wages. The DWP and HMRC are using a computer program to identify those eligible to receive a cost of living payment, and for some benefit claimants, it's a case of the computer telling them they are ineligible.
Around 40 per cent of the 5.8 million people on universal credit are working and, for some, it transpires that the way their wages are paid does not match the qualifying period for this first payment.
One claimant told BirminghamLive they would miss out on the payment due to their wages being paid on a four-weekly basis instead of per calendar month. They said: "I get paid every four weeks which means 13 pay days a year, therefore once a year I get paid twice in that timescale for universal credit, so I am not eligible for the payment because of this, NOT because I've earned more. I contacted universal credit and they said they couldn't do anything, they just get told whether someone is eligible."
The revelation comes on top of another catch that means anyone who has a 'nil award' of universal credit for the April 26 to May 25 assessment period will not get the £326 payment either because their wages were too high to get any benefit on top.
A DWP statement said: "The vast majority of existing recipients of universal credit will qualify for a cost of living payment but inevitably a small number will be ineligible on the qualification dates because of a change of income, earnings or other circumstance.
"Earnings patterns can vary substantially and it would be impossible to choose qualifying dates that work for every single person on universal credit. However autumn's second qualifying date reduces the risk that those with non-monthly pay periods that were ineligible for the first payment miss out altogether.
"For any individuals that are not eligible for this support, or for families that need additional support, the government is providing an additional £500 million to help vulnerable households and from October 2022, domestic electricity customers will receive a £400 discount on their bills."
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