According to Money Saving Expert, around eight million households in the UK today that are eligible will receive the third and final part of their £900 cost of living payment today.
This payment, which didn’t require an application, was paid in three chunks of varying amounts to people on certain benefits and Tax Credits. They’re tax-free, don’t go towards the benefits cap and don’t impact current payments.
The first payment was £301, the second was £300 and the final payment will be £299. The varying amounts have been paid in this way to ensure that the government can track whether you’ve got the right payment at the right time.
When does the cost of living payment arrive?
If you receive Child Tax Credit or Working Tax Credit without any other benefits, your payment should arrive between the 16th and 22nd February. For these benefits, with or without Tax Credits, you should get your payment between February 6th and February 22nd:
- Income-based jobseeker’s allowance
- Income-related employment and support allowance
- Income Support
- Pension Credit
- Universal Credit
To get this £299, you need to have been paid or be eligible for these benefits for any day between 13th November 2023 and 12th December 2023.
Money Saving Expert does note that those on Universal Credit are entitled to this payment unless their Universal Credit payment was reduced to £0 for the entire period between 13th November and 12th December. This can happen when you or your partner’s earnings or savings go up, you start earning another benefit or you get paid more than one set of wages within that month.
Beware of scammers
This payment does not require any applications so if you receive texts or emails inviting you to claim or apply for the payment, these are from scammers and should be ignored.
If you get benefits from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), the reference for the payment will be ‘DWP COL’, along with your national insurance number. For Tax Credits-only recipients, the payment reference will be ‘HMRC COLS’.
Finally, if you get a cost of living payment and the DWP later finds that you weren’t actually eligible, you may have to pay it back.