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Cost of Living Help

gjw59help

While many people will welcome the money from the Government there are many that will be left out,in our situation my wife receives basic state pension whilst I am in the Support group of ESA "contribution Based" and not classed as means tested although my DWP letter says"would be entitled to income based but entitled to contribution based,therefore we and many people are left out unfairly,we will be grateful for the fuel payment though

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janer1967

Hi and welcome to the community

I understand your frustration do either of you claim pip or a disability benefit to be entitled to that support

Are you getting the council tax £150 payment

gjw59help

No I am in ESA Support group,my wife pays the council tax so unsure about that,I can tell you that at the moment after food gas and electric I am into my overdraft regulary

gjw59help

That sounds good but been struggling for so long now it will have to happen before I feel better,thanks for the info

ShirleyW

As your wife receives State Pension she will receive the £300 for pensioners.

janer1967

I think its only.those o pension credit that get the £300 not those on basic state pension but I could be wrong check out the links provided on the gov announcement post on here

MarkM88

One-off £300 Pensioner Cost of Living Payment

Pensioners are disproportionately impacted by higher energy costs, and many low-income pensioner households do not claim the means tested benefits they are entitled to.
So pensioner households will receive an extra £300 this year to help them cover the rising cost of energy this winter.
This additional one-off payment will go to the over 8 million pensioner households across the UK who receive the Winter Fuel Payment and will be paid on top of any other one-off support a pensioner household is entitled to, for example where they are on pension credit or receive disability benefits. Eligible households currently receive between £200 - £300, so the payment will represent at least double the support for this winter.
The Winter Fuel Payment (including the extra Pensioner Cost of Living Payment) is not taxable and does not affect eligibility for other benefits.
All pensioner households will get the one-off Pensioner Cost of Living Payment as a top-up to their annual Winter Fuel Payment in November/December. For most pensioner households, this will be paid by direct debit.
People will be eligible for this payment if they are over State Pension age (aged 66 or above) between 19 – 25 September 2022. There are certain circumstances where an individual above State Pension age does not qualify for the Winter Fuel Payment which can be found here on gov.uk [https://www.gov.uk/winter-fuel-payment/eligibility]
The government will make these payments directly to households across the UK.

calcotti

janer1967 said:

I think its only.those o pension credit that get the £300 not those on basic state pension but I could be wrong check out the links provided on the gov announcement post on here

No. The £300 is an extra payment in the fuel payment which is paid to all pensioners.

One-off £300 Pensioner Cost of Living Payment

So pensioner households will receive an extra £300 this year to help them cover the rising cost of energy this winter.

This additional one-off payment will go to the over 8 million pensioner households across the UK who receive the Winter Fuel Payment and will be paid on top of any other one-off support a pensioner household is entitled to, for example where they are on pension credit or receive disability benefits.

janer1967

Sorry still confused as your quote says in last bit for example those on pension credit

So do those just on basic state pension get the £300 ?

poppy123456

janer1967 said:

So do those just on basic state pension get the £300 ?

Yes they do. The winter fuel payment is paid to those on state Pension, you do not have to be claiming Pension Credit to receive this. Those that receive the Winter Fuel payment will also receive the £300 extra.

SueHeath

Hi @janer1967 hubby got his state pension Feb 2021 - Nov 21 he received fuel allowance out of the blue - so i think every one on basic state pension gets the extra money near Christmas.

calcotti

janer1967 said:

Sorry still confused as your quote says in last bit for example those on pension credit

So do those just on basic state pension get the £300 ?

calcotti said:
No. The £300 is an extra payment in the fuel payment which is paid to all pensioners.
One-off £300 Pensioner Cost of Living Payment
So pensioner households will receive an extra £300 this year to help them cover the rising cost of energy this winter.
This additional one-off payment will go to the over 8 million pensioner households across the UK who receive the Winter Fuel Payment and will be paid on top of any other one-off support a pensioner household is entitled to, for example where they are on pension credit or receive disability benefits.

The statement says the payment goes to everyone who receives the Wiinter Fuel Payment. This is paid to all pensioners. It then goes on to say the payment is on top of any other support for example where they are on pension Credit.

janer1967

Thanks everyone for clarifying sorry I'm was being dumb it is early lol
Was just curious to know if my mum would get it

SueHeath

Your not dumb @janer1967 - i was curious as well for myself - i'm not used to this kind of thing - i have to work out what some people are talking about when they just say letters like ESA ha ha xx

gjw59help

Had to come back,firstly ESA is Employment Support Allowance and secondly you have to be getting Guaranteed Pension Credit to get the Warm Home Discount which then qualifies pensioners for the extra money,you do NOT get it on Basic State Pension,I wish people would get facts right before answering,also going back to my original statement it says on my DWP letter that I am entitled to XXX income based ESA but because I am entitled to Contribution Based ESA I will get that instead which is the same amount but just because I have paid my NI contributions I am not entitled to any extra help which is unfair

gjw59help

What annoys me most is the DWP letter scam,it says every year on my letter "your income related amount is *** less 0 so you would have been entitled to ***
However because you are entitled to CB ESA we will pay you ***"
which is the same amount but therefore cannot claim any other help such as Warm Home Discount etc etc,income based benefits are the passport to tons of help and better quality of life for some.

calcotti

gjw59help said:

.. you have to be getting Guaranteed Pension Credit to get the Warm Home Discount which then qualifies pensioners for the extra money,you do NOT get it on Basic State Pension,..

The Warm Home Discount scheme has not been the subject of any of the posts in this thread until yours and the Warm Home Discount has no relevance to the Cost of Living Support scheme.

gjw59help said:..I wish people would get facts right before answering,..

Agreed.

SueHeath

Yes i agree @Marc86 i am really worried about my own children and their families but at least they all got the council tax benefit and they will be getting the £400 fuel help.

poppy123456

SueHeath said:

i am really worried about my own children and their families but at least they all got the council tax benefit and they will be getting the £400 fuel help.

It's certainly a worry. I'm the same for me with my daughter and her family. At the moment they're both working full time. They have 1 child and another on the way. She's due to start maternity leave in about 4 weeks. Once her earnings drop to just SMP they will have a drop in income of about £1200 a month.

Even with this drop in income they are still not entitled to any Universal Credt. Although they will receive the £400 for the energy bills and the £150 Council Tax rebate they will miss out on everything else.

A couple of months ago they moved into their first home so have no savings left.

poppy123456

Marc86 said:

poppy123456 said:

SueHeath said:

i am really worried about my own children and their families but at least they all got the council tax benefit and they will be getting the £400 fuel help.

It's certainly a worry. I'm the same for me with my daughter and her family. At the moment they're both working full time. They have 1 child and another on the way. She's due to start maternity leave in about 4 weeks. Once her earnings drop to just SMP they will have a drop in income of about £1200 a month.
Even with this drop in income they are still not entitled to any Universal Credt. Although they will receive the £400 for the energy bills and the £150 Council Tax rebate they will miss out on everything else.
A couple of months ago they moved into their first home so have no savings left.

With the new baby adding another child element will they still not be eligible for UC? I suppose if they don't have rent the amount to cancel an award is quite low really

No, i've already done a full benefits check for them based on 2 children. Even with the higher work allowance, there's still no entitlement.

Siwheels73

Am currently in the queue to talk to Sky about reducing our costs or leaving them. Currently been waiting nearly 2 hours. Not a happy bunny