The first cost of living payment of 2023 was sent to more than eight million people in April and May, and the second will be on the way later this year.
The total grant will award people £900 over three instalments. It is an extension of the £650-worth of payments issued last year.
The payments are designed to ease the burden on the nation’s most vulnerable households amid the cost of living crisis that has seen inflation soar, significantly increasing the price of necessities, especially food and energy.
Who gets the £900 cost of living grant and do I need to apply?
The grant is being paid to people who receive the following benefits:
- universal credit
- income-based jobseeker’s allowance
- income-related employment and support allowance
- income support
- pension credit
- working tax credit
- child tax credit
You do not need to apply for the payment. If you are eligible you should receive it automatically.
People will not be eligible for the payment if their qualifying benefit is reduced to £0 for the qualifying period. This is sometimes called a “nil award”.
Reasons a benefit may be reduced to £0 include:
- 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.
You may still be eligible for the payment if your benefit is reduced to £0 and one of the following applies:
- money was taken off your benefit for other reasons, such as payments of rent to your landlord or for money that you owe;
- you had a hardship payment because you could not pay for rent, heating, food or hygiene needs.
Just over eight million people will benefit from the payments, the Government has said.
The money is being paid in three separate payments over the course of the financial year, which started in the spring. The payments are spread across a longer period to ensure a consistent support offering throughout the year, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said.
When is the next payment?
DWP has issued the following guideline for the remaining two payments:
- £300 – second payment during autumn 2023
- £299 – third payment during spring 2024
Exact dates will be confirmed closer to the time.
The slightly different payment amounts are to make it easier for DWP and HMRC to track which grants people have received, in order to minimise fraud risk.
