Millions to get latest cost of living payment from today

Recipients have been told to beware of scammers

Millions of people will start to receive up to £600 from today in additional cost of living support.

More than 11.6 million pensioners will receive the winter fuel payment over the next two months to help with their energy bills.

This year's payments have been boosted by an extra £300 per household pensioner cost of living payment.

The vast majority of payments will be automatic so pensioners will receive the money in their bank accounts. Anyone who has not received their payment by 13 January should contact the government's Winter Fuel Payment Centre.

A million people on tax credits can also expect to see a second cost-of-living payment arrive in their bank accounts over the next week.

Work and pensions secretary Mel Stride said ministers “want to do everything we can to support pensioners, who are often the most exposed to higher costs”.

“As we deal with the impact of Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine and the aftermath of the pandemic, we will continue to stand by the most vulnerable, with further cost-of-living payments coming next year,” he added.

“This extra payment is just one part of the wider support package we’re delivering to help with rising bills, including the biggest state pension increase in history.”

Recipients have been warned to look out for fraudsters who may exploit the situation.

Customers face big bills this winter. (Peter Byrne/PA) (PA Wire)

Anyone contacting people directly about cost-of-living payments could be con artists attempting to steal personal details, the tax authority has warned.

The latest payments are in addition to the £400 being distributed to every household, and the energy price guarantee, which caps the price that suppliers can charge.

People who do not receive benefits or the state pension will need to make a claim to receive their payment.

The money will appear on bank statements with the payment reference starting with the customer's national Insurance number followed by “DWP WFP” for people in Great Britain, or “DFC WFP” for people in Northern Ireland.

About one million people in receipt of tax credits will receive their second cost-of-living support payment of £324, also aimed at helping with higher energy bills.

It will be paid automatically between today and next Wednesday as part of the government’s £37bn cost of living package.

The £324 payment, the last part of the £650 announced by Rishi Sunak earlier this year, has already been paid to most Universal Credit claimants since 8 November.

Over seven million payments of £324 have already been made this month to low-income households as part of this government’s cost of living support.

This includes pensioners receiving pension credit.

The average pension credit award is worth more than £3,500 a year, and for those pensioners who may be eligible but are yet to make an application, there is still time to do so and qualify for the additional £324 payment.

HMRC’s Angela MacDonald said: “This second cost of living payment will provide further financial support to eligible tax credit-only claimants across the UK.

Work and pensions secretary Mel Stride (PA Wire)

“The £324 will be paid automatically into bank accounts, so people don’t need to do anything to receive this extra help.”

Further cost-of-living support to be paid next year were announced by chancellor Jeremy Hunt in his autumn statement last week.

Payments will include a further £300 for pensioners, £900 for households on means-tested benefits and £150 for those on disability benefits.

It was also confirmed in the autumn statement that retirees will be heading for a 10.1 per cent increase to the state pension from next April, after Mr Hunt confirmed that the pensions triple lock is being protected.

The full new state pension is currently £185.15 per week, so a 10.1 per cent increase would push that figure up to £203.85.

For those on the full, old basic state pension, who reached state pension age before April 2016, the increase means a weekly rise from £141.85 to £156.20.

The triple lock is normally used to calculate the increase in the state pension, but it was temporarily suspended due to the distorting impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.