Millions of Britons are soon to receive a £299 cost of living payment going out to claimants of Universal Credit, Pension Credit and other benefits. The DWP payment is the final instalment of a £900 cost of living payment which is being paid to eligible people in three instalments over this financial year.
People on qualifying means-tested benefits will receive the payment between February 6 and 22.
Individuals on these benefits will get the amount if they were receiving their benefits during the qualifying period:
- Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- Income Support
- Pension Credit
- Universal Credit
- Child Tax Credit
- Working Tax Credit.
The qualifying period to get the payment was from November 13 to December 12. A person will need to have been entitled to one of the benefits during this time to qualify for the cost of living payment.
Despite the ongoing cost of living support, many bills have increased this winter, especially energy bills, as Britons will not be receiving the £400 energy bills support.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said: “Inflation has halved, but I know some families are particularly vulnerable to cost-of-living pressures, which is why these payments are so important.”
The Department for Work and Pensions is also encouraging low-income pensioners who are not already receiving Pension Credit to check their eligibility, as they could still qualify for the cost of living payment in February.
Pension Credit is one of the most underclaimed benefits and it can boost a household’s income by £3,500 a year.
The support tops up a person’s income to a minimum of £201.05 per week for single pensioners and £306.85 for couples. Payments will also increase next April by 6.7 percent.
People can find out if they qualify and how much they might receive by using the DWP’s Pension Credit calculator, which can be found here.
Applications can be made up to four months before reaching the state pension age, which is currently 66. People can also apply any time after reaching the state pension age, but applications can only be backdated by three months.
A person does not need to be claiming their state pension to claim Pension Credit.
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