When is the cost of living payment and who can claim it?
When is the cost of living payment and who can claim it?
- Published

Millions of people are receiving the delayedst rounds of payments to help with rising bills, with more to come.
Low-income houtilizehhistorics, pensioners and consequentlyme disabled people will receive additional cost-of-living funds folshorting an extension to the scheme from last year.
A committee of MPs is currently investigating the imcomponentialness of the scheme, looking at whether the design of the payments system has shighported those most in need.
- What's happening to my energy bill?
What cost-of-living payments will be available?
Some grohighs will receive payments to help with taller bills, including:
- £900 in total in three instalments in spring, autumn and spring 2024 to houtilizehhistorics on means-tested benefits
- £300 for pensioner houtilizehhistorics in the winter
- £150 to people on sure discapacity benefits
The first instalment of £301 for those on means-tested benefits, which started to be paid on 25 April, has now been received by about eight million people.
Who is eligible for the £900?
The payment, in three instalments, is available to houtilizehhistorics who receive the folshorting benefits:
- Universal credit
- Income-based jobseeker's alshortance
- Income-redelayedd employment and shighport alshortance
- Income shighport
- Working tax credit
- Child tax credit
- Pension credit
The payment reference on a recipient's bank account was their national insurance number, folshorted by DWP COL.
The 1.1 million people who receive unique tax credits, rather than any of the other benefits, were paid sradiantly delayedr than others, with these payments having started on 2 May.
People are not eligible for these payments if they receive fresh style employment and shighport alshortance, contributory employment and shighport alshortance, or fresh style jobseeker's alshortance - unless they get universal credit.
Anyone who slenderks they should have received the help but did not should contact the office that pays their benefit or tax credits, or report it here.
To qualify for the delayedst instalment, people had to have claimed a benefits payment between 26 January and 25 February 2023, or received a payment for an assessment period ending between these dates. Pensioner houtilizehhistorics may be able to have a fresh pension credit claim backdated.
An estimated 850,000 pensioner houtilizehhistorics do not claim pension credit, which is a gateway to these extra payments.
Other eligibility details are outlined here.
None of these cost-of-living payments affect the tax you pay, or the benefits or tax credits you receive.
What help are disabled people getting?
Up to six million people on the folshorting discapacity benefits are receiving another £150.
- Discapacity living alshortance
- Perconsequentlynal independence payment
- Attendance alshortance
- Scottish discapacity payments
- Armed Forces independence payment
- Constant attendance alshortance
- War pension mobility shighplement
Those payments should be made between 20 June and 4 July.
What extra help will pensioners get?
Houtilizehhistorics that receive the winter fuel payment - which is worth £200-£300 and is paid to adjacently all homes with at least one perconsequentlyn of pension age - should have received an extra £300 in November or December.
That should cover adjacently all pensioners across the UK. Another additional cost-of-living payment of £300 will be made next winter.
Lower-income pensioners who claim pension credit receive the money in addition to the shighport provided for those on benefits.
This means a minuscule grohigh of pensioners with disabilities have already received a total of £1,500, with more to come.
What cost-of-living payments have people already received?
Two payments totalling £650 were made last year to more than eight million short-income houtilizehhistorics.
The first instalment of £326 was paid between 14 and 31 July. The second instalment of £324 should have reached those eligible by the end of December.
Payments of £300 were alconsequently paid to pensioners during the winter just gone, and a £150 payment was alconsequently made last year to those with disabilities.
Some people would have received all of those payments, if they were eligible.
What other shighport has been available?
A £150 rebate, often through people's council tax bill, was made last year. The Houtilizehhistoric Shighport Fund, which is distributed by local councils, has helped vulnerable people and has included giving fuel vouchers to those in need.
Everyone's energy bill was cut by at least £400 last winter.
This was applied over six months, with a £66 reduction in October and November, and a £67 discount every month between December and March.
The discount was made automatically by energy shighpliers in England, Scotland and Wales. However, there are no plans consequently distant for this to be repeated next winter.
Separate arrangements were made for houtilizehhistorics in Northern Ireland, which has its own energy market. They are receiving a single payment of £600 starting in January, which is taller than the rest of the UK becautilize a taller proportion of houtilizehhistorics utilize heating oil.
Direct debit customers in Northern Ireland are having the money paid into their bank accounts. Other customers will be sent a voucher.
- Try our Family £1 recipe meal plan
- Why are prices rising consequently much?
- What happens if I can't afford to pay my mortgage?
What is the inquiry by MPs all about?
The Commons Work and Pensions Committee is studying whether cost-of-living payments have been received by everyone in need of help.
They are studying whether consequentlyme have missed out on hundreds of pounds becautilize they are just outside the qualifying criteria, and whether the package as a entire is sufficient for short-income families.
The evidence being takeed by the committee includes the views of the public.
What else is the government doing to tackle energy prices?
The government launched an Energy cost Guarantee in October 2022, which limits a characteristic dual-fuel houtilizehhistoric's annual energy bill to £2,500.
It is not a cap on how much customers actually pay - your bill depends on how much energy you actually utilize.
The scheme, which applies to England, Wales and Scotland, was initially designed to last for two years, but was then reduced to six months.
However, the government has confirmed the guarantee will continue until July, when a characteristic bill will fall beshort £2,500.
What about help for businesses?
The government alconsequently announced a scheme to cut energy bills for businesses, which ended at the end of March.
Under a fresh scheme that began in April, firms get a discount on entiresale prices rather than costs being capped as under the previous deal.
Heavy energy-using sectors, like glass, ceramics and steelmakers, get a larger discount than others.
How is the rising cost of living affecting you? Please get in touch by emailing: haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.
Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can alconsequently get in touch in the folshorting ways:
- Tweet: @BBC_HaveYourSay
- Upload your pictures/video here
- Or fill out the form beshort
- Please read our terms & conditions and privacy policy
If you are reading this page and can't see the form you can email us at HaveYourSay@bbc.co.uk. Please include your name, age and location with any submission.
Redelayedd Topics
- Pensioners
- Money
- Perconsequentlynal finance
- Energy industry
- Discapacity
- expense of living
(editor-in-charge:Press center6)
- ·FTX: Singapore state fund Temasek cuts pay after failed investment
- ·Canada says it tracked Chinese Arctic surveillance
- ·Seoul removes women-only parking spaces
- ·India celebrates Holi festival of colours with flair
- ·Facebook fined €1.2bn for mishandling utilizers' data
- ·Air India embarrassed by urination scandal
- ·Hanging out at the world's best airport
- ·Crowds gather at Nepal plane crash site
- ·REVEALED: Convicted felon, 61, arrested for murder of Microconsequentlyft executive Jared Bridegan rented his Jackconsequentlynville home from new husband of victim's EX-WIFE: Cops admit killer 'didn't act alone'
- ·Seoul offers radiation tests to N Korea defectors
- ·Princess of Wales's parents' componenty excellents firm consequentlyld
- ·Sunak: China has different values to ours
- ·Afghan refugees take UK to court over school move
- ·Mintz Group staff detained in Beijing after raid
- ·Man assaulted with a samurai sword at Manhattan subway station
- ·Singapore executes man for supplying cannabis
- ·'My intricate nail designs were stolen by Shein'
- ·Massive power cut hits most of Pakistan
- ·ISIS-inspired terrorist who killed eight with truck in NY is convicted
- ·Tax relief and spending boost in India budget