The new £900 cash boost for over eight million eligible means-tested benefits claimants, including those on Universal Credit, Pension Credit and tax credits, starts in spring and will go direct to bank accounts in three payments over the course of the financial year.
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There will also be a separate £150 for over six million disabled people and £300 for over eight million pensioners on top of their Winter Fuel Payments.
Exact payment windows will be announced closer to the time, but are spread across a longer period to ensure a consistent support offering throughout the year.
They will be broadly as follows:
• £301 – First Cost of Living Payment – during Spring 2023
• £150 – Disability Payment – during Summer 2023
• £300 – Second Cost of Living Payment – during Autumn 2023
• £300 – Pensioner Payment – during Winter 2023/4
• £299 – Third Cost of Living Payment – during Spring 2024
Work and Pensions Secretary, Mel Stride said: "We are sticking by our promise to protect the most vulnerable and these payments, worth hundreds of pounds, will provide vital support next year for those on the lowest incomes.
"The government’s wider support package has already helped more than eight million families as we continue to deal with the global consequences of Putin’s illegal war and the aftershocks of the pandemic."
If individuals are eligible they will be paid automatically, and there will be no need to apply. Claimants who are eligible for any of the Cost of Living Payments and receive tax credits, and no other means-tested benefits, will receive payment from HMRC shortly after DWP payments are issued.
These payments build on the Government’s extensive support package to help households tackle the globally rising cost of living stemming from the pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
The Government’s Energy Price Guarantee continues to cap energy costs, saving the average household around £900 this winter and a further £500 in 2023/24.
Benefits, including working age benefits and the State Pension, will also rise in line with inflation from April 2023, ensuring they increase by over 10%.
April will also see the biggest ever cash rise to the National Living Wage, bringing it to £10.42 an hour, and a further year-long extension of the Household Support Fund in England and associated devolved nation funding worth £1 billion in total.
This comes on top of the 2022 support package, which included:
• A £650 Cost of Living payment for means-tested benefit claimants, split into two payments, each of which supported over eight million households
• Further £300 and £150 payments, which reached over eight million pensioners and over six million disabled people respectively
• A £150 Council Tax rebate for all households in Council Tax bands A-D
• A £400 energy bill discount for all households, which will continue to run through March ■