Cost of living payments 2022: key dates UK government support will be paid in autumn and winter

The UK government will issue a series of payments to households over the coming months to help with the rising cost of living.

An emergency £37 billion package of support will be rolled out to those who are most in need and will see millions of the most vulnerable households receive at least £1,200 of support this year.

Around eight million households have already received the first instalment of a one-off £650 payment, with the second instalment to follow in the autumn. Additionally, six million people who are paid certain disability benefits have started to receive a one-off payment of £150, with the payment rolling out to those eligible from 20 September.

But what other government support is on the way this year? Listed are all of the key cost of living payment dates you need to know.

20 September - £150 disability cost of living payment

Around six million people across the UK who receive the following disability benefits will get a one-off payment of £150 from 20 September:

• Disability Living Allowance
• Personal Independence Payment
• Attendance Allowance
• Scottish Disability Benefits
• Armed Forces Independence Payment
• Constant Attendance Allowance
• War Pension Mobility Supplement

Claimants must be in receipt of, or have begun an eventually successful claim for, one of these benefits as of 25 May 2022 to be eligible for this additional payment.

For the many disability benefit recipients who receive means-tested benefits, this £150 will come on top of the £650 they will receive separately.

These payments will be exempt from tax, will not count towards the benefit cap, and will not have any impact on existing benefit awards.

October - Energy Price Guarantee

From 1 October, a typical UK household will pay no more than £2,500 per year on their energy bill for the next two years through a new Energy Price Guarantee.

It will limit the price that suppliers can charge customers for units of gas and will take account of temporarily removing green levies, worth around £150, from household bills.

The consumer saving will be based on usage, but on average usage a household will save £1,000 a year (based on current prices from October). Energy suppliers will be compensated by the government for the savings delivered to households.

October to March - £400 energy bills discount

All UK households will get £400 off their energy bills from October as a non-repayable grant.

The universal support is being doubled from £200 to £400 and is an expansion of the Energy Bills Support Scheme.

Energy suppliers will deliver this support to households with a domestic electricity meter in six instalments from October.

Direct debit and credit customers will have the money credited to their account, while customers with pre-payment meters will have the money applied to their meter or paid via a voucher.

This support will apply directly for households in England, Scotland, and Wales. It is GB-wide and the government will deliver equivalent support to people in Northern Ireland.

October to March - £500m increase and extension of Household Support Fund

The government will provide an extra £500 million of local support, via the Household Support Fund, which will be extended from this October to March 2023.

The Household Support Fund helps those in most need with payments towards the rising cost of food, energy, and water bills.

The government will issue additional guidance to Local Authorities to ensure support is targeted towards those most in need, including those not eligible for the cost of living payments set out on 26 May 2022.

The Household Support Fund is administered by local councils in England and further information will be available directly from them. Eligibility will be determined by individual councils.

The Barnett formula provides a share of this funding to the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland so they can decide how to provide support.

8 and 23 November - second instalment of the £650 cost of living payment

More than one million households receiving tax credits, and no other means-tested benefits, will get the second instalment of the £650 cost of living payment from 23 November, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has confirmed.

The £324 payment will be paid into most eligible customers’ bank accounts automatically between that date and 30 November across the UK. It follows the first instalment of £326 which eligible families received from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) from July and from HMRC from September.

The government recently announced that households receiving DWP benefits will get their second cost of living payment from 8 November continuing through to 23 November. This includes tax credit claimants who also receive other income-related benefits from DWP. HMRC said it is making payments shortly after the DWP in order to avoid duplicate payments.

HMRC deputy chief executive and second permanent secretary Angela MacDonald said: “This second cost of living payment will provide further financial support to eligible tax credit-only claimants across the UK. The £324 will be paid automatically into bank accounts, so people don’t need to do anything to receive this extra help.”

November to December - £300 pensioner cost of living payment

Pensioner households across the UK will receive a one-off £300 payment in November or December.

The payment will go to more than eight million households who receive the Winter Fuel Payment and it will be paid on top of any other one-off support a pensioner household is entitled to.

People will be eligible if they are over State Pension age (aged 66 or above) between 19 and 25 September 2022.

For most pensioner households, the payment will be paid by direct debit.

November - reversal of National Insurance hike

The government will reduce National Insurance rates from 6 November 2022, in effect removing the temporary 1.25 percentage point increase for the remainder of the 2022-23 tax year.

The 1.25% Health and Social Care Levy will not come into force as a separate tax from 6 April 2023 as previously planned.

It means 28 million people across the UK will keep an extra £330 a year, on average, in 2023-2024.