The first 2023 cost of living payment is rolling out (Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
As the cost of living crisis continues, more much-needed financial help for those on low incomes is incoming.
With energy bills, council tax and water bills all having risen lately – plus the cost of phones and broadband going up – most households are feeling the squeeze.
A raft of new cost of living payments were announced by Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt as part of his Autumn budget, with the first having been rolled out from April 25.
But when should you have received the first payment by, and when can we expect the second?
Here’s what you need to know.
When is the first cost of living payment?
The first of three cost of living payments began rolling out on April 25.
There’s still time for the first payment to arrive (Picture: Group via Getty Images)
Those eligible for the helping hand will receive £301 between April 25 and May 17, so you should have got yours by today.
HMRC has 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.
A second payment of £300 is expected in autumn and a third of £299 in 2024.
This was announced by the Chancellor in his Autumn statement and will apply to more than eight million eligible, means-tested people, according to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
Those eligible will be receiving at least one of the following benefits:
Income-based Jobseekers’ Allowance
Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
It will be paid direct into bank accounts and there is no need to apply.
The DWP’s website states that payments will be means-tested and will be ‘up to £900’. The amounts vary slightly to enable to DWP to keep track of payments more easily and reduce fraud.
When will the second payment arrive?
Though we don’t have a firm date set for the second installment, payments are expected to arrive in autumn 2023.
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The third payment is then thought to begin arriving in bank accounts in early 2024.
In the meantime, there are other payments expected to provide those most in need a little extra boost.
What other help is available?
£150 payment for disabled people
More than six million disabled people who are in receipt of an ‘eligible disability benefit’ will receive a one-off payment of £150.
Disabled people will benefit from a one-off payment (Picture: Getty Images/iStockPhoto)
This will be paid during Summer 2023.
Further details about which disability benefits will qualify in 2023 are yet to be confirmed but they are expected to include:
Disability Living Allowance (for adults and children)
Adult Disability Payment (in Scotland)
Child Disability Payment (in Scotland)
Armed Forces Independence Payment
War Pension Mobility Supplement
There is no need to apply, as the Disability Cost of Living Payment will be made into bank accounts automatically.
£300 payment for pensioners
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. That’s around eight million people.
Pensioners can expect a one-off payment in winter 2023 (Picture: Getty Images)
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.
MORE : When should I receive my £301 cost of living payment by? May 2023 date
MORE : Are there any cost of living payments due in summer 2023?
MORE : How the cost of living crisis is affecting people approaching retirement
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