MILLIONS of households have already received hundreds of pounds in help this year and there's more to come.
Several payments worth up to £1,085 are set to go out before Christmas to help with the cost of living.
Among the cash boosts coming in the next few months is the second instalment of the three-part £900 Cost of Living payment.
The first round went out from April 25 and was worth £301.
From October the second Cost of Living payment will be made, worth £300, before a final sum of £299 in spring 2024.
A separate £300 pensioner CoL payment will follow from November, but an exact date is yet to be announced.
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Other free cash will be landing in eligible Brits bank accounts by Christmas.
In total these payments amount to a total of £1,085.
Cost of Living payment – £300
In autumn, around 8million households will receive their second chunk of the £900 means-tested benefits CoL cash.
The next instalment will go out to households on benefits between October 31 and November 19.
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Households on tax credits will receive their payment from HMRC later to avoid duplication, between November 10 and November 19.
You'll get the second boost if you were receiving the following benefits between August 18 and September 17:
- Universal Credit
- Income-based Jobseekers Allowance
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- Income Support
- Working Tax Credit
- Child Tax Credit
- Pension credit
If you were later found to be entitled to any of the above benefits between these qualifying dates you are eligible for the payment too.
Winter Fuel Payment & Pensioner Cost of Living payment – up to £600
A payment worth up to £300 for pensioners to help with the cost of living will be made this winter.
If you are entitled to a Winter Fuel Payment (WFP) for Winter 2023 to 2024, you will get the extra cash paid with your normal WFP money.
The WFP is worth up to £300 on its own, so if you're eligible you could be in-line to get £600 in total.
The Winter Fuel Payment is made to households with someone born before a certain date.
This year, it is being made to every household with someone born before September 25, 1957.
In most cases, you won't have to apply and the payments will be made automatically from November, though the exact date can vary.
Warm home discount – worth £150
Households can get £150 off their electricity bill for winter 2023 to 2024 through the Warm Home Discount scheme.
The money is not paid to you but is a one-off discount applied to your electricity bill between now and March every year.
In most cases, you'll get the discount automatically if you're eligible.
You only need to apply if you're on a low income in Scotland and will need to contact your supplier directly.
You will be eligible for the automatic discount if you receive any of the following benefits:
- Income Support
- Income-based jobseeker's allowance
- Income-related employment and support allowance
- Housing benefit
- Universal Credit
- Child tax credit
- Working tax credits
- Pension credit guaranteed
- Pension credit savings credit
Cold Weather Payment – £25 a week
Thousands of struggling households can get £25 or more towards their energy bills through a Cold Weather Payment.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) hands them out when temperatures drop to below zero for at least seven days.
That means if the weather is cold enough for 14 days you could receive £50, and so on.
But you usually have to be on certain benefits to qualify, which are:
- Pension Credit
- Income Support
- Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- Universal Credit
- Support for Mortgage Interest
Cold Weather payments are made between November 1 and March 31 each year.
Those in Scotland don't get a Cold Weather Payment but may be able to receive a Winter Heating Payment instead.
DWP Christmas Bonus – £10
Those on Universal Credit and other benefits could be eligible for an additional boost as Christmas quickly approaches.
The Department for Work and Pensions usually pays up during the first full week of December, and this year it's expected households will receive £10.
The best part is, you don't have to do anything – if you're eligible, it will be paid into the account where you normally get benefit payments.
To claim your part of the Christmas cash, check if you are a part of one of DWP's benefits:
- Armed Forces Independence Payment
- Attendance Allowance
- Carer’s Allowance
- Child Disability Payment
- Constant Attendance Allowance (paid under Industrial Injuries or War Pensions schemes)
- Contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance (once the main phase of the benefit is entered after the first 13 weeks of claim)
- Disability Living Allowance
- Incapacity Benefit at the long-term rate
- Industrial Death Benefit (for widows or widowers)
- Mobility Supplement
- Pension Credit – the guarantee element
- Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
- State Pension (including Graduated Retirement Benefit)
- Severe Disablement Allowance (transitionally protected)
- Unemployability Supplement or Allowance (paid under Industrial Injuries or War Pensions schemes)
- War Disablement Pension at State Pension age
- War Widow’s Pension
- Widowed Mother’s Allowance
- Widowed Parent’s Allowance
- Widow’s Pension
The bonus isn’t available to those who receive Universal Credit only but someone on Universal Credit who also receives one of the qualifying benefits will receive it.
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Meanwhile, winter weather has firmly arrived and the nights are drawing in across the country – but there's help on offer.
Plus, hard-up households can get a whole host of freebies in October on top of their usual payments.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing [email protected].
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