DWP confirms no more Cost of Living Payments planned

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is not planning to make any more Cost of Living Payments, according to a note added to its guidance on 6 May 2025¹. The payments ran from 2022 to 2024 and were made automatically to people receiving certain benefits or tax credits on set qualifying dates¹.

The guidance sets out the amounts paid to people on low income benefits and tax credits: £326, £324, £301, £300 and £299 across the five rounds¹. Eligibility depended on receiving one of income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support, Pension Credit, Universal Credit, Child Tax Credit or Working Tax Credit on the relevant qualifying date¹. People getting only New Style ESA, contributory ESA or New Style JSA were not eligible¹.

For Universal Credit claimants, the qualifying and payment dates were:

Source: Cost of Living Payments, GOV.UK¹

Two Disability Cost of Living Payments of £150 were also made, to people receiving benefits including Attendance Allowance, Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment and Adult or Child Disability Payment in Scotland, based on payments received for 25 May 2022 and 1 April 2023¹. Pensioners entitled to a Winter Fuel Payment for winter 2022 to 2023 or winter 2023 to 2024 received an extra £150 or £300 with their normal payment¹.

The guidance states the payments were not taxable and did not affect the benefits or tax credits a claimant received, and that no application was needed¹. It also states that a payment may have to be paid back if a claimant is later found not to have been eligible¹. The page was published on 13 March 2023 and last updated on 1 April 2026, when the Household Support Fund was replaced with the Crisis and Resilience Fund¹. The 6 May 2025 note is the entry that confirms no further payments are planned¹.

Why it matters for households

The confirmation means there is no further round of Cost of Living Payments to come. Households that received the £326, £324, £301, £300 and £299 low income payments, the two £150 disability payments or the pensioner top-up of £150 or £300 have had the full set of amounts described in the guidance¹. Anyone who was eligible but did not receive a payment is directed to contact the office that pays their qualifying benefit or tax credits¹. The guidance also notes that payments can be recovered where eligibility is later found not to have applied¹.

Support referenced in the guidance now runs through other routes: the Crisis and Resilience Fund from local councils in England, the Discretionary Assistance Fund in Wales, a Crisis Grant or Community Care Grant in Scotland, and Discretionary Support or a Short-term Benefit Advance in Northern Ireland¹. The guidance also points to a benefits calculator and to wider help with living costs¹. No figures for those funds are given on the page¹.

What happens next

No further Cost of Living Payment dates have been announced, and the guidance states none are planned¹. The page continues to be updated for other reasons: the most recent update, on 1 April 2026, replaced the Household Support Fund with the Crisis and Resilience Fund¹. Earlier updates covered how DWP decides payments and how to challenge a decision¹.