As the cost of living crisis continues, more much-needed financial help for those on low incomes is on its way.
With energy bills still high, and council tax and water bills having risen back in April – plus the cost of phones and broadband going up – many households are feeling the squeeze.
A raft of new Cost of Living Payments are due over the course of 2023/24, with the first having been rolled out earlier this year.
But when can you expect the second payment?
Here’s all you need to know.
When is the second Cost of Living Payment expected to be paid?
A second Cost of Living Payment of £300 is expected to arrive in autumn 2023.
No exact payment date has been announced at the time of writing, but one will surely be announced nearer the time.
Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis, has shared that it will likely be around October/November time.
However, in 2022, the two cost of living payments totalling £650 were sent out four months apart, the first in July and the second in November, so if the DWP follows the same pattern this year, payments could be sent out around August 22.
Having said that, the government has said it is expected to arrive in ‘Autumn’ meaning the date could be in September and October.
Following the second payment, a third Cost of Living Payment of £299 is set to arrive sometime in early 2024.
The three payments, totalling £900, were announced by the Chancellor in his Autumn statement back in late 2022 – and are expected to reach more than eight million households, according to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
Those eligible will be receiving at least one of 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.
This money is paid directly into bank accounts and there is no need to apply for them. If you’re eligible, you should receive it.
When was the first Cost of Living Payment paid?
The first of the three Cost of Living Payments was rolled out between late April through to mid May.
Those eligible for the helping hand should have received £301 between April 25 and May 17.
HMRC confirmed that the one million UK families who receive tax credits and no other benefits should have received their first payment between May 2 and May 9.
If you’re eligible, it should have been paid to you the way you usually receive your benefits or tax credits, with a banking reference of ‘DWP COL’ or ‘HMRC COL’ respectively.
Are there any other Cost of Living Payments for 2023/24?
Here is a breakdown of the other payments on the way in the next few months…
£150 Disability Cost of Living Payment
More than six million disabled people who are in receipt of an ‘eligible disability benefit’ should have received a one-off payment of £150.
Most people will have been paid their £150 Disability Cost of Living Payment automatically between June 20 and July 4.
You must have received a payment of one of these benefits for 1 April 2023 to get the Disability Cost of Living Payment.
- Attendance Allowance
- Constant Attendance Allowance
- Disability Living Allowance (for adults and children)
- Personal Independence Payment
- Adult Disability Payment (in Scotland)
- Child Disability Payment (in Scotland)
- Armed Forces Independence Payment
- War Pension Mobility Supplement.
Your payment might come later than the dates given above if, for example, you’re awarded a qualifying benefit at a later date or you change the account your benefit is paid into.
You will still be paid the Cost of Living Payment automatically.
£300 Pensioner Cost of Living Payment
Any pensioners who were entitled to the Winter Fuel Payment – that’s anyone born before September 26, 1956 – will receive an additional amount of £300 per household this winter.
Those eligible for this Pensioner Cost of Living Payment should already have received the Winter Fuel Payment.
The deadline for claiming it for 2022/3 was March 31, 2023.
The £300 Pensioner Cost of Living Payment will be made during the winter of 2023/4.
All these cost of living payments will be tax-free, will not impact any existing benefits, and won’t count towards the government’s benefit cap.
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