Chancellor announced cost of living support package

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced a new package of financial support in his 2022 Autumn Statement, aimed at easing the squeeze during the cost of living crisis¹. The money was made available only to the most vulnerable households¹.

The package included three cost of living payments worth a total of £900 for people claiming means-tested benefits¹. The final instalment of £299 was sent by the Department for Work and Pensions to around eight million households between 6 and 22 February 2024¹. It followed an initial £301 paid between April and May, and a second instalment of £300 in the autumn¹. Eligibility required already receiving one or more of Universal Credit, income-based jobseekers allowance, income-related employment and support allowance, income support, pension credit, working tax credit or child tax credit¹. The payment was transferred automatically into bank accounts, separate from benefits or tax credits, with no application needed¹.

Separately, an extra £300 was paid to eight million pensioners as an increase to the Winter Fuel Payment for 2023 to 2024, sent automatically by the DWP from 1 November¹. The Winter Fuel Payment is usually between £100 and £300, meaning some eligible pensioners could have received a total of £400 to £600 in government support¹. A one-off £150 payment was also made between 20 June and 4 July to more than six million people with disabilities; anyone in receipt of certain disability benefits on 1 April 2023 was entitled¹.

The DWP said nearly 880,000 homes in the UK could get £299 more if they applied for pension credit by Tuesday 5 March¹. Around 1.4 million UK low-income pensioners already receive pension credit, a means-tested benefit awarded based on earnings¹. Guarantee credit tops up weekly income to £201.05 for single people and £306.85 for couples in 2023-24, while savings credit is only available for people who reached state pension age before April 2016¹.

Why it matters for households

The payments were made automatically to eligible households, so no claim was required for the £299, £300 or £150 instalments¹. Anyone who met the eligibility criteria but had not received their support after the payment period passed was advised to check their bank statement for a payment reference of 'DWP COL' or 'HMRC COLSD' along with their National Insurance number before contacting the DWP¹. The DWP also warned about scam messages, including texts and emails asking people to claim or apply for payments or call a fake number¹.

What happens next

The deadline for applying for pension credit to qualify for the final £299 payment was Tuesday 5 March¹. The £299 payment was the last of the three instalments worth a total of £900 rolled out in that financial year¹.