Chancellor Rishi Sunak, has announced that pensioners will receive a one-off payment of £300 to ease the cost of living crisis. Those eligible will be given the funds to help with energy bills later this year, but are all pensioners entitled to the money? Here’s everything you need to know about the support funding, including how it is paid and who will benefit from it.
Will all pensioners get £300 for energy bills?
Mr Sunak has announced that targeted support for pensioners, alongside other vulnerable groups, will be made available later this year in the form of a one-off payment.
The funding will help millions of pensioners who are “disproportionately impacted by higher energy costs”, following the April energy price cap rise and the soaring rate of inflation.
More than eight million pensioners are expected to benefit from the extra money, though it will only be given to those who are eligible for a winter fuel payment.
READ MORE: Rishi Sunak announces eight million will get one-off £650
In a statement read before Parliament earlier today, the chancellor said: “So, I can announce today that, from the autumn, we will send over eight million pensioner households who receive the Winter Fuel Payment – an extra, one-off Pensioner Cost of Living Payment of £300.”
There are two main criteria that must be met to qualify for a winter fuel payment.
According to gov.uk, you can receive this funding if:
- You were born on or before 26 September 1955
- You lived in the UK for at least one day during the week of 20 to 26 September 2021 – this is called the ‘qualifying week’
When will pensioners receive the payments?
There is no specific date which has been set for pensioners to receive the payment, though Mr Sunak told MPs in the House of Commons that it will be delivered “from the autumn”.
If the extra funding coincides with the winter fuel payment, pensioners should expect it around November or December, as this is when “most payments are made automatically”, according to gov.uk.
The payment could be made as early as October if the Government chooses to implement it alongside the second rise in the energy price cap this year.
According to Ofgem’s chief executive, Jonathan Brearley, that a further energy price cap rise will take place in October, bringing the existing cap up to somewhere “in the region of £2,800”.
Who else will receive help with living costs?
Disabled people and those receiving benefits will also benefit from extra financial support later this year.
In addition to the one-off pensioners payment, Mr Sunak announced a one-off £650 payment for more than eight million low-income households on benefits.
This will be paid in two instalments in July and autumn, alongside a £150 payment to anyone receiving disability benefits which will be paid by September.
Mr Sunak said: “This is a significant set of interventions to support the most vulnerable in our country.
“We will legislate to deliver this support on the same terms in every part of the United Kingdom – including Northern Ireland.
“And, taken together, our direct cash payments will help one third of all UK households with the cost of living, support worth over £9bn.”
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