Millions of households on low incomes will receive fresh cost-of-living support from this spring, with the grants due to be spread out until 2024.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has announced further details on the payments timeline, building on payments made to more than eight million people in 2022.

The next round of support for households was previously unveiled in the Chancellor’s 2022 autumn statement.

The new £900 cash support for more than eight million eligible means-tested benefits claimants, including people on Universal Credit, Pension Credit, and tax credits, starts in the spring and will go directly to bank accounts in three payments, the DWP said on January 3.

When will people receive payments?

A first payment of £301 will be paid out this spring, a second £300 payment will be sent in the autumn, and a third £299 grant will arrive in bank accounts in spring 2024.

There will also be an extra £150 in cash support for disabled people in summer 2023 and £300 for pensioners – on top of their winter-fuel payments – in the winter.

The payments will be sent to eligible people automatically – operating in the same way as the 2022 £650 cost-of-living support for those on benefits.

Exact payment windows will be announced closer to the time, the Government said, adding that payments will be spread to ensure consistent support throughout the year.

Who is eligible for the £900 payments?

According to the Government’s official guidance, you may be eligible if you’re getting any of the following:

• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance

• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance

• Income Support

• Pension Credit

• Universal Credit

• Child Tax Credit

• Working Tax Credit

Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride said: “We are sticking by our promise to protect the most vulnerable and these payments, worth hundreds of pounds, will provide vital support next year for those on the lowest incomes.

“The Government’s wider support package has already helped more than eight million families as we continue to deal with the global consequences of Putin’s illegal war and the aftershocks of the pandemic.”

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt added: “I know these are tough times for families across the UK who are struggling to meet rising food and energy costs, driven by the aftershocks of Covid and Putin’s war in Ukraine.

“That’s why we’re putting a further £900 into the pockets of over eight million low income households next year. These payments are on top of above inflation increases to working-age benefits and the energy price guarantee, which is insulating millions from even higher global gas prices.”