DWP sending out four payments on top of benefits worth £480

The Department for Work and Pensions will roll out four payments on TOP of benefits - worth £480 - before Christmas. As confirmed in the budget earlier this week, millions of pensioners will also receive an increase of 4.1 per cent to their State Pension, which means the full rate of the new State Pension will rise to over £12,000 a year, while Pension Credit standard minimum guarantee will soon be worth £227.10 a week for a single person and £346.60 for a couple.

Working age people on Universal Credit, PIP, ESA, and other vital benefits will also see their incomes protected, as they are set to increase by 1.7 percent, ensuring incomes of the most vulnerable aren’t outstripped by inflation.

The Warm Home Discount is applied automatically on energy bills in the majority of cases. If a household believes they are eligible, they should first wait to see if they receive a letter, letters will arrive with households between October and January.

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If they have not received a letter by early January, they should check their energy account to see whether they have received the rebate automatically and, if not, they should contact the Warm Home Discount helpline on 0800 030 9322.

Winter Fuel Payment - £300

Eligible pensioners can also receive up to £300 for the Winter Fuel Payment which is set to land in bank accounts in the next two months. We continue to urge anyone who thinks they may be entitled to Pension Credit to check now.

This could be worth up to £3,900 a year on average and open the doors to other benefits including help with housing costs, council tax reduction as well as a Winter Fuel Payment, and all eligible Pension Credit claims can be backdated.

Cold Weather Payment - £25

DWP ’s Cold Weather Payments are an automatic bank top-up of £25, triggered to be paid to eligible households when the average temperature has been recorded as, or is forecast to be, zero degrees Celsius or below for seven consecutive days at the weather station linked to an eligible person’s postcode.

The £25 payments will be paid automatically to households receiving certain benefits including, Pension Credit, Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), Universal Credit and Support for Mortgage Interest.

The money will appear in bank statements within 14 days of each seven-day period of very cold weather between 1 November 2024 and 31 March 2025, with the payment reference starting with the customer’s national Insurance number followed by ‘DWP CWP’ for people in England and Wales.

Warm Home Discount - £150

The £150 Warm Home Discount scheme has also been extended as we continue to stand behind households in, or at risk of, fuel poverty with direct energy bill payments as well as other financial and energy-related support.

On top of this, struggling households can receive further help with their bills and essential costs through the extension of the Household Support Fund – adding to the six months already announced, an additional £1 billion, including Barnett impact, will be invested to extend this support by a full year, and to maintain Discretionary Housing Payments in England and Wales.

Anyone struggling to heat their homes or afford other essential items over the colder months should contact their local council to see what support may be available to them.

DWP Christmas Bonus - £10

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is prepared to give its annual Christmas Bonus, a one-time £10 payment intended to provide some additional assistance to people receiving eligible benefits during the expensive holiday season.

The Christmas Bonus is tax-free and does not need an application; it will be instantly deposited to qualified recipients’ bank accounts. Those who received an unexpected £10 payment in December should be confident that it was most likely the DWP Christmas Bonus. Payments are normally handled during the first full week of December.