Some of Britain’s poorest pensioners are being warned that they could be missing out on the government's £301 cost of living payment unless they take urgent action. The first instalment of the money is today (April 25), hitting bank accounts of some of the country’s poorest people.
But the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) has warned that many OAPs only have a short period of time to check their eligibility before they will lose out. Many pensioners who are eligible are failing to claim Pension Credit.
Pension Credit is aimed at helping some of the less well off in the country and tops up your weekly income to £201.05 if you’re single your joint weekly income to £306.85 if you have a partner. Those who get Pension Credit also qualify for the cost of living payment - and it’s estimated that 850,000 pensioners are currently not claiming the benefit when they should be.
Read more: DWP making £301 cost of living payments to more than 1 million in East Midlands from today
To check eligibility for pension credit click here. The DWP has said that people who currently are not on pensions credit have until May 19 to make a backdated application and qualify for the first £301 cost of living payment.
Pensions credit can also give more than £3,000 extra a year for some of the poorest people in the country. The DWP added for those in need of help: “Those in need are also encouraged to contact their local council to see if any additional support is available in their local area, such as through the DWP’s Household Support Fund in England, worth over £2 billion across its lifetime.”
More than a million households and individuals in the East Midlands are today beginning to get their first £301 cost of living payments. The DWP said that in the East Midlands a total of 545,000 households will be receiving the first payment, with 484,000 individuals additionally getting it.
Those eligible will be paid between Tuesday 25 April and Wednesday 17 May. People will be eligible for the Cost of Living Payment if they have been entitled to a payment for one of seven benefits between 26 January and 25 February 2023.
The eligible benefits are: Universal Credit; Pension Credit; Income-based Jobseekers Allowance; Income-related Employment and Support Allowance; Income Support; Working Tax Credit; and Child Tax Credit. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will send payments automatically and directly to recipients’ bank accounts, with a reference of their National Insurance number followed by ‘DWP COL’.
But there is a warning that HMRC is making payments to tax credit-only customers between Tuesday 2 and Tuesday 9 May. Once the majority of those who are entitled to a payment by DWP have been paid, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will make payments of £301 between Tuesday 2 and Tuesday 9 May to one million eligible families receiving tax credits only, with the banking reference ‘HMRC COLS’.
Jeremy Hunt, Chancellor of the Exchequer, said: “The best thing we can do to help people’s money go further is deliver on our priorities to halve inflation and grow the economy. But we’re also here to help people through these tough times, which is why we’re holding down energy bills, freezing fuel duty, increasing Universal Credit, and giving £900 payments to low income and vulnerable families - all in part funded through windfall taxes on energy profits.”
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