DWP benefits that could secure cost of living payments up to £1,850 this year

The Department for Work and Pensions is still offering cost of living support to people who missed out during the original rollouts. The DWP says it carries out regular reviews of people's benefits and identifies claimants who may be "retrospectively entitled" to some or all of the previous cost of living payments.

In other cases, people have reported missing amounts and have later been contacted with news of what they will be receiving. One claimant told BirminghamLive's Facebook Cost of Living group they had filled in an online form and were informed they would be getting just over £950, made up of three cost of living payments of £326, £324 and £301 that they had not received when they were initially distributed to millions of households.

The DWP still has an active webpage for people to log a claim for a missed payment. You need to input your National Insurance number and are urged to check your bank, building society or credit union statements, or your Payment Exception Service voucher receipts, before reporting that you did not receive a payment. But who is potentially eligible? We have looked at what benefits you need to have been receiving and how much you should have had.

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Cost of living payments 2022-2203

You would have been eligible for £650 paid in two lump sums of £326 and £324 if you were getting payments of any of the following:

• Universal Credit

• income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)

• income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)

• Income Support

• Pension Credit

• Child Tax Credit

• Working Tax Credit

The £326 first instalment was sent out between July 14 and 31, 2022, and the second part of £324 between November 8 and 23 that year. In addition, a sum of £150 for those who are on disability benefits was paid between September 20 and the start of October, 2022 - to be eligible you had to be receiving any of the following:

• Attendance Allowance

• Constant Attendance Allowance

• Disability Living Allowance for adults

• Disability Living Allowance for children

• Personal Independence Payment

• Adult Disability Payment (in Scotland)

• Child Disability Payment (in Scotland)

• Armed Forces Independence Payment

• War Pension Mobility Supplement

Cost of living payments 2023-2024

You may be entitled to up to three cost of living payments of £301, £300 and £299 if you received any of the following means-tested benefits or tax credits on certain dates:

• income-based Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA)

• income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)

• Income Support

• Pension Credit

• Universal Credit

• Child Tax Credit

• Working Tax Credit

The £301 payment went into accounts between April 25 and May 17, 2023, followed by £300 between October 31 and November 19 that year, and then £299 between February 6 and 22, 2024. In addition, you may be entitled to a disability cost of living payment of £150 if you are getting any of the following benefits:

• Attendance Allowance

• Constant Attendance Allowance

• Disability Living Allowance for adults

• Disability Living Allowance for children

• Personal Independence Payment

• Adult Disability Payment (in Scotland)

• Child Disability Payment (in Scotland)

• Armed Forces Independence Payment

• War Pension Mobility Supplement

The £150 disability cost of living payment was sent out between June 20 and July 4, 2023. Each payment had its own qualifying dates when people must have been on a relevant benefit, or had a Universal Credit assessment period ending. Those whose benefits were reduced to zero between the qualifying dates because of excess earnings, having too much savings or for other reasons aren't usually eligible for the cost of living payments.

Some people receive means-tested benefits such as Universal Credit as well as a disability benefit such as Personal Independence Payment and could have been eligible for both sets of payments. Those only on means-tested benefits and who were receiving them in the qualifying dates would have been entitled to £650 in 2022-2023 and £900 in 2023-2024.

People only on disability benefits would have been entitled to £150 in each of those years. And those who are on both benefit types would potentially be entitled to £800 in the first year and £1,050 in the second year. Eligibility in both years could mean a total of £1,850 is due, a hefty sum for anyone who slipped through the net.

Get breaking news on BirminghamLive WhatsApp. Join our dedicated community to get the latest updates. You can find out more in our Money Saving Newsletter which is sent out daily with all the updates you need to know on benefits, finances, bills and shopping discounts. Reporting a missing payment could mean getting a late