Financial support, advice and guidance

Millions of households across the UK will benefit from a new package of targeted government support to help with the rising cost of living.

Energy Bills Support Scheme doubled to a one-off £400:

• Households will get £400 of support with their energy bills through an expansion of the Energy Bills Support Scheme.
• As well as doubling the £200 of support announced earlier this year, the full £400 payment will now be made as a grant, which will not have to be paid back.
• Energy suppliers will deliver this support to households with a domestic electricity meter over six months from October. Direct debit and credit customers will have the money credited to their account, while customers with pre-payment meters will have the money applied to their meter or paid via a voucher.
• This support is in addition to the £150 Council Tax rebate for households in England in Council Tax bands A-D, which was announced in February, and which millions of households have already received.

£650 one-off Cost of Living Payment for those on means tested benefits:

• More than eight million households on means tested benefits will receive a payment of £650 this year, made in two instalments. This includes all households receiving the following benefits:
  • Universal Credit
  • Income-based Jobseekers Allowance
  • Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
  • Income Support
  • Working Tax Credit
  • Child Tax Credit
  • Pension Credit
• DWP will make the payment in two lump sums – the first from July, the second in the autumn. Payments from HMRC for those on tax credits only will follow shortly after each to avoid duplicate payments.
• Claimants will need to be in receipt of one of these benefits, or have begun a claim which is later successful, as of 25 May 2022 to be eligible for the first of the two instalments. HMRC and DWP will provide further guidance, and the government will set out the eligibility date for the second instalment, in due course.
• This payment will be tax-free, will not count towards the benefit cap, and will not have any impact on existing benefit awards.
• The government will make these payments directly to households across the UK.

One-off £300 Pensioner Cost of Living Payment

• Pensioner households will receive an extra £300 this year to help them cover the rising cost of energy this winter.
• This additional one-off payment will go to the over eight million pensioner households across the UK who receive the Winter Fuel Payment and will be paid on top of any other one-off support a pensioner household is entitled to, for example where they are on pension credit or receive disability benefits. Eligible households currently receive between £200 – £300, so the payment will represent at least double the support for this winter.
• The Winter Fuel Payment (including the extra Pensioner Cost of Living Payment) is not taxable and does not affect eligibility for other benefits.
• All pensioner households will get the one-off Pensioner Cost of Living Payment as a top-up to their annual Winter Fuel Payment in November/December. For most pensioner households, this will be paid by direct debit.
• People will be eligible for this payment if they are over State Pension age (aged 66 or above) between 19 – 25 September 2022. There are certain circumstances where an individual above State Pension age does not qualify for the Winter Fuel Payment which can be found on GOV.UK
• The government will make these payments directly to households across the UK.

£150 Disability Cost of Living Payment

• Around six million people across the UK who receive the following disability benefits will receive a one-off payment of £150 in September:
  • Disability Living Allowance
  • Personal Independence Payment
  • Attendance Allowance
  • Scottish Disability Benefits
  • Armed Forces Independence Payment
  • Constant Attendance Allowance
  • War Pension Mobility Supplement
• We know people with disabilities may face a wide range of additional costs, such as specialist equipment, specialist food, and increased transport costs, and this payment will help with these costs as they are likely to have increased. Claimants must be in receipt of, or have begun an eventually successful claim for, one of these benefits as of 25th May 2022 to be eligible for this additional payment.
• For the many disability benefit recipients who receive means tested benefits, this £150 will come on top of the £650 they will receive separately.
• These payments will be exempt from tax, will not count towards the benefit cap, and will not have any impact on existing benefit awards.
• The government will make these payments directly to eligible people across the UK.

Further detailed information is available on GOV.UK – Cost of living support factsheet.

Second cost-of-living payment from 8 November

On 8 November, the government announced that households receiving benefits from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will receive the second part of the £650 cost-of-living payment.

The second payment of £324 will automatically be paid into the bank accounts of most of those eligible in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland who receive a qualifying DWP benefit. This means those eligible will not need to do anything to receive the money.

More information on the announcement can be found on GOV.UK – £324 payment to hit bank accounts from 8 November.

Benefits checker

It is estimated that £15 billion of benefits go unclaimed, including £2.2 billion amongst pensioners for things like Pension Credit and housing benefit. You can do your own initial check through the Turn 2 Us benefits calculator.

If you want more support with claiming benefits please seek advice from a specialist organisations such as Citizens Advice or Age UK.