Older people making successful new claim for Pension Credit will also qualify for backdated £301 payment

dailyrecord.co.uk:

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) recently announced the 2023/24 timetable for new cost of living payments aimed at helping millions of households across the country mitigate soaring inflation and high energy bills.

The first part of the £900 means-tested payment is worth £301 and will start to land automatically in over eight million bank accounts from April 25 until May 17, 2023.The DWP is also encouraging low-income pensioners not already getting Pension Credit to check their eligibility, as they can still qualify for the £301 cost of living payment - if they make a successful backdated Pension Credit claim by May 19, 2023.

This is because Pension Credit is a retrospective benefit that can be backdated by up to three months, taking it to the final day of the qualifying period of February 25, 2023.During a recent debate on ‘support for women in poverty’ DWP Minister Mims Davies MP shared with the cross-party Committee of MPs that take-up of applications for Pension Credit have increased by 66 per cent.The latest figures from the DWP show that there are now some 12.6million people across Great Britain claiming their State Pension.Out of that overall total, some 1.4million are also in receipt of the passport benefit worth, which is worth around £3,500 on average each year.

This means that 1.6million older people, including spouses and partners, are receiving additional financial support through Pension Credit.Of the overall total number of people drawing their State Pension, 9.7million are receiving Basic State Pension payments of up to £141.85 per week (rising to £156.20 in April), compared to 2.9million getting the New State Pension, which is worth up to £185.15 each week (rising to £203.85 in April).But an