Cost of Living Payment for Pensioners

£650 Payment for those on Pension Credits

Those who are eligible to receive Pension Credits are urged to make an application to the DWP by the 18th August 2022 in order to be eligible for the £650 low-income Cost of Living Payments.

The £650 is split into two payments of £324 and £326 and the first is paid automatically into your bank account between 14th and 31st July for those on pension credits.

To be eligible, you must have been eligible to receive pension credits at any point between 26th April 2022 and 25th May 2022. As Pension Credit is backdated by 3 months, this means that if you make an application for pension credit by the 18th August 2022, you will be eligible for this payment. The second payment date is yet to be announced but will be sometime in September 2022.

Winter Fuel Cost Of Living Payment

Those that are awarded the Winter Fuel Payment for winter 2022 to 2023 will get an extra £300 for your household paid with your normal payment from November 2022. This is in addition to any Cost-of-Living Payment you get with your benefit or tax credits.

The amount you can get, including your winter fuel Cost-of-Living payment is as follows:

​Your circumstances	Born between 26 September 1942 and 25 September 1956	Born on or before 25 September 1942
You qualify and live alone (or none of the people you live with qualify)	£500	£600
You qualify and live with someone under 80 who also qualifies	£250	£350
You qualify and live with someone 80 or over who also qualifies	£250	£300
You qualify and live with a partner who qualifies, and either of you gets certain benefits	£500 - only one of you will get the payment	£600 - only one of you will get the payment
You qualify and live with someone (not your partner) who qualifies, and either of you gets certain benefits	£500 - you'll both get the payment	£600 - you'll both get the payment
You qualify, live in a care home and do not get certain benefits	£250	£300

To be eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment, you must be receiving the State Pension or be receiving another social security benefit (not Housing Benefit, Council Tax Reduction, Child Benefit or Universal Credit). You must also have been living in the UK for at least one day between the 19th and 25th September 2022.

Payments are automatically made in November or December 2022, and you should receive your payment by 13 January 2023.

You will not qualify for the winter fuel payment if:

- You have been in hospital receiving free treatment for over a year

- You need permission to enter the UK and your entered to leave states that you cannot claim public funds

- Were in prison for the whole week of 19th to 25th September 2022

- Lived in a care home for the whole time period from 27th June 2022 to 25 September 2022 and got pension credit, income support, income-based jobseeker’s allowance, or employment and support allowance.

If you believe that you were eligible for a Cost-of-Living payment in July 2022 that you did not receive, you can report it online here https://secure.dwp.gov.uk/report-a-missing-cost-of-living-payment/welcome

If you would like a benefit check to see whether you are entitled to pension credits, please get in touch with us to arrange this.

Call 0151 360 7777 or email advice@vauxhalllawcentre.org.uk