Am I entitled to the cost of living payment?

Teresamay

Hi all I'm teresa and just wondering if I'm entitled to the cost of living payment as I put in a claim for uc50 in October and got excepted yesterday July 11 2022 

poppy123456

To get the first Cost of Living Payment of £326, you must have been entitled to a payment (or later found to be entitled to a payment) of Universal Credit for an assessment period that ended in the period 26 April 2022 to 25 May 2022.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/cost-of-living-payment

Teresamay

Thanks for the reply so no received payment yet but I will be back dated so I unsure

janer1967

Hi 

Are you getting uc you don't have to be getting the lcwra to be entitled to the cost of living payment 

If you get any uc you are entitled but also as you claimed for lcwra and been awarded it should be backdated to the 4th full assessment period after reporting your medical condition so you were entitled by the cut off date 

poppy123456

LCWRA is part of UC so provided your assessment period ended within that timescale above and you were entitled to a payment then yes you'll receive the first payment of £326.

Teresamay

Hi thanks for the reply I am on uc but no payments so only have the lcwra rewarded yesterday back dated to January thanks 

poppy123456

When the LCWRA element is paid from exactly will totally depend on what date you reported your health condition and what date you usually receive your payments. This is because there's a full 3 month assessment period waiting time and the extra money is paid from the 4th month of your claim.

With the cost of living payment, if it works out that you're owed money and you should have received payment during the qualifying period then yes you will receive the first payment, due between 14th -31st July.

Teresamay

Thanks for the reply all this is so confusing but I think I'm getting there thank you x

Alex_Alumni

I can understand why it's confusing @Teresamay so well done for reaching out, I'm glad we could assist


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traym70

Hi there. I'm also new on here. Really good question, as I'm in a similar situation and unsure as to my eligibility for the cost of Iiving payment. My 1st assessment period was 20th April to 19th May which was paid 26th May. 

Alex_Alumni

Hello and welcome @traym70 thanks for your question

I think you should be eligible, as it says "you must have been entitled to a payment (or later found to be entitled to a payment) of Universal Credit for an assessment period that ended in the period 26 April 2022 to 25 May 2022."

As your assessment period ended on the 19th of May, it falls within the dates 26th April to 25th May. 

Does that make sense?

poppy123456

traym70 said:

Hi there. I'm also new on here. Really good question, as I'm in a similar situation and unsure as to my eligibility for the cost of Iiving payment. My 1st assessment period was 20th April to 19th May which was paid 26th May. 

Yes you will because you must have been entitled to a payment with an assessment period ending between 26th April to 25th May. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/cost-of-living-payment

traym70

Alex_Scope said:

Hello and welcome @traym70 thanks for your question

I think you should be eligible, as it says "you must have been entitled to a payment (or later found to be entitled to a payment) of Universal Credit for an assessment period that ended in the period 26 April 2022 to 25 May 2022."

As your assessment period ended on the 19th of May, it falls within the dates 26th April to 25th May. 

Does that make sense?

Thankyou for the warm welcome.  Yes that does make sense, 
Thankyou so much. 

traym70

poppy123456 said:

traym70 said:

Hi there. I'm also new on here. Really good question, as I'm in a similar situation and unsure as to my eligibility for the cost of Iiving payment. My 1st assessment period was 20th April to 19th May which was paid 26th May. 

Yes you will because you must have been entitled to a payment with an assessment period ending between 26th April to 25th May. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/cost-of-living-payment

Thankyou so much.. thats reassured me. 

Alex_Alumni

That's good @traym70 thanks for letting us know.

Enjoy your afternoon and just shout if you need anything else

traym70

@AlexW_Scope. You too.
I'm sure I'll be popping up again as I'm in the process of PIP and LWRCA. I must say, everything I've read on here has been invaluable. 

MDXYJ

hi 
so im very confused by all of this if i am recieving LWRCA i am entitled to the cost of living payment? 
im finding it hard to understand i thought you had to be on means tested benefits thank you 

poppy123456

MDXYJ said:

hi 
so im very confused by all of this if i am recieving LWRCA i am entitled to the cost of living payment? 
im finding it hard to understand i thought you had to be on means tested benefits thank you 

LCWRA is part of Universal Credit, which is means tested so if you're claiming this then yes you'll be entitled to the first payment of £326 due to paid anytime up until 31st July. See link. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/cost-of-living-payment

colin1970

Hi, I also have a similar question, I now receive the LCWRA element however it’s all a bit confusing and would appreciate any support or answers if possible, my assessment period which ended 21st may has a UC entitlement of nil as I also receive ESA anc in the support group, I completed the UC50 form back in march and was advised that I qualified for LCWRA but this would be delayed 3 months as per the previous comments re 3 months, therefore in my next assessment dated from 22 may to 21 June this now shows that i
got the LCWRA element on top of other benefits so my awarded amount is above nil (this looks like I may have missed out by a few days) so, the question is, since people say that if you are subsequently successful on a claim you will be entitled, so since I was always ‘technically’ entitled and the only reason my award was nil for the assessment period was through no fault of mine but the governments system of mskknb people wait a full 3 months before the payments for LCWRA starts, or am I completely missing the point here

calcotti

colin1970 said:

got the LCWRA element on top of other benefits so my awarded amount is above nil (this looks like I may have missed out by a few days) so, the question is, since people say that if you are subsequently successful on a claim you will be entitled, so since I was always ‘technically’ entitled and the only reason my award was nil for the assessment period was through no fault of mine but the governments system of mskknb people wait a full 3 months before the payments for LCWRA starts, or am I completely missing the point here

During the waiting period you are not entitled to the LCWRA element. That isn't a mistake, it's what the law says (and replicates what happens for ESA). If you were not entitled to UC in the qualifying period then you are not entitled to Cost of Living payment.

colin1970

Hi, I was entitled to UC during the assessment period but didn’t get any as the ESA amount was more than the standard UC entitlement it’s just that the LCWRA element didn’t kick in till a few days after the assessment period was valid, does this provide more information or is it basically the dMe