Urgent warning to anyone still waiting for £301 cost of living payment – check if you need to act now

An urgent warning has been issued to households who have been waiting for the £301 cost of living payment but still not received it. If you’re eligible for the payment and it hasn’t landed in your account automatically, you can use an online portal to claim it - but you need to act quickly.

More than eight million households have already received the first installment of their £900 cost of living payment, which aims to help households earning lower incomes with high energy and food bills. People in receipt of certain means-tested benefits are eligible for the cash boost.

According to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), the first payment of £301 should have been with most people by May 17. But if you have not received it, you should report the payment as missing via a new online portal.

To report a missing payment, you need to visit the Gov.uk website and input your full name, date of birth, address and National Insurance number. Most people, if found to be eligible, should receive their payment within two weeks of claiming, although the Government has warned this could take longer depending on volume of claims.

The portal will remain open for around three weeks from May 18, after which you’ll be able to report a missing cost of living payment by logging a note in your online benefits journal.

Who is eligible for the cost of living payment?

To qualify for the first cost of living payment you need to have been paid or have been eligible for one of the benefits or tax credits listed below between January 26 and February 23 2023.

• Child tax credit
• Income support
• Income-based jobseeker’s allowance
• Income-related employment and support allowance
• Pension credit
• Universal Credit
• Working tax credit

What else is included as part of cost of living support?

The Government is issuing a £1,350 package of support to households from this spring - including £900 for those on means-tested benefits, £300 for pensioners and £150 for people on disability benefits. It’s rare that households will qualify for all three payments but if you do, you should get the £1,350 automatically paid to you.

As part of the £900, a second payment of £300 and a third payment of £299 will be made later this year.

Payment windows for the £1,350 payment will be as follows:

• £301 – First Cost of Living Payment – during Spring 2023
• £150 – 2023 Disability Payment – during Summer 2023
• £300 – Second Cost of Living Payment – during Autumn 2023
• £300 – 2023 Pensioner Payment – during Winter
• £299 – Third Cost of Living Payment – during Spring 2024