One million Brits on benefits in line to get £650 cost of living payment within weeks

The payment is part of the support package announced by the government earlier this year

A million people could be just weeks away from getting their first instalment of a £650 payment to help them deal with the cost of living crisis. In May this year, chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a raft of measures aimed at helping the most vulnerable households. One of these measures was a £650 cost of living payment, which was to go out to eight million people. It was split into two instalments of £326 and £324. The vast majority of those eligible should already have received the first payment, which was sent out by July 31. However, for around a million people on tax credits this wasn't the case, because of concerns from the government about people receiving "duplicate" payments. Earlier this month, the government confirmed this group would be receiving the £326 sum in September. So it could just be a few weeks before this hits the bank accounts of many. It has not yet been confirmed when the second payment of £324 will be rolled out to those on tax credits, but it is due to be at some point during the winter. The government says: "To get the first Cost of Living Payment of £326, you must have been entitled, or later found to be entitled, for any day in the period 26 April 2022 to 25 May 2022 to:

• a payment of tax credits
• an annual award of at least £26 of tax credits

"We will update this guidance when the government has announced the qualifying dates to get the second payment of £324. "If you get both Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit, you will receive a Cost of Living Payment for Child Tax Credit only. "If you get tax credits from HMRC and a low income benefit from DWP, you will get a Cost of Living Payment from DWP only." You can find out more about the cost of living payment and whether or not you are eligible by clicking here. Some of the other measures coming up later this year to try and help Brits with rising bills and prices are a payment of £150 in September to 6 million people with disabilities, a £400 energy bill discount to all households from October, and a £300 cost of living payment to low income pensioners towards the end of the year. Related links:

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