Most claimants eligible for the money received the first instalment of £326 in July and are scheduled to receive the second instalment between November 8 and 23
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has issued an update for people on tax credits awaiting the £324 cost of living payment. The money is the second instalment of the DWP’s £650 cost of living payment for people on means-tested benefits.
Most claimants eligible for the money received the first instalment of £326 in July and are scheduled to receive the second instalment between November 8 and 23.
According to the DWP, most people eligible for the £650 cost of living payment tax credits received the first instalment between September 2 and 7. Previously, the DWP said that tax credit claimants would get the second instalment in the winter.
However, it has now confirmed that these claimants will receive the second instalment ‘shortly after people on the low income DWP benefits have been paid’. This indicates that the second instalment will be paid some time after Wednesday, November 23.
Around eight million people are entitled to the £650 payment. These include people on Universal Credit, Income Support, Pensioner Credit, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, child tax credits and working tax credits.
The £650 cost of living payment is part of a series of targeted payments intended to help vulnerable people with rising bills and prices. This also includes a £150 disability cost of living payment and a £300 pensioner cost of living payment.
In addition, the government has also capped the average household energy bill at £2,500 a year as part of its Energy Price Guarantee. However, this is not an absolute limit and households may pay more than this depending on how much energy they use.