Answers · UK 2025/26
Are Cost of Living Payments still available in 2026/27?
No. The DWP Cost of Living Payment scheme -- the one-off lump sums paid to benefit claimants between 2022 and 2024 -- ended in early 2024 and has not been renewed. Support in 2026/27 comes instead through inflation-linked benefit uprating, the Household Support Fund via local councils, and the new Crisis and Resilience Fund.
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Between 2022 and 2024, the government made several rounds of Cost of Living Payments -- automatic, tax-free lump sums (typically £299-£900) paid to people receiving means-tested benefits, tax credits, disability benefits, or pension credit, to help with sharply rising energy and food prices. These payments were time-limited and the scheme formally closed in early 2024. There is no equivalent national Cost of Living Payment scheduled for 2026/27, and the government has confirmed no new lump-sum rounds are planned. **What replaced it** Rather than one-off payments, support since 2024 has been delivered through three main channels: 1. **Benefit uprating**: Universal Credit, Pension Credit, and other income-related benefits are uprated each April in line with the previous September's CPI inflation figure, so their ongoing value tracks living costs automatically rather than through separate top-up payments. 2. **Household Support Fund**: local councils in England receive government grant funding (extended repeatedly since 2021) to distribute discretionary help -- typically vouchers, direct payments, or bill support -- to residents in genuine hardship. Contact your local council to check what is available and how to apply, since schemes and criteria vary significantly by area. 3. **Crisis and Resilience Fund**: a new funding stream for local authorities, providing around £1 billion a year for at least three years, intended to give councils more flexibility to support low-income households facing sudden financial shocks. **What to check if you are struggling** If you are on a low income, check eligibility for Universal Credit, Pension Credit (many eligible pensioners do not claim it), Council Tax Reduction, and the Warm Home Discount. Also check with your energy supplier for hardship funds, and with your local council for Household Support Fund or Crisis and Resilience Fund grants. Scotland and Wales run some separate devolved support schemes, so check gov.scot or gov.wales for local equivalents. **Beware of scams** Since the Cost of Living Payment scheme ended, fraudulent texts and emails claiming to offer a "new Cost of Living Payment" and asking for bank details have increased. DWP and HMRC never ask for bank details by text or email link -- always verify through gov.uk directly.
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This answer is informational only and does not constitute financial, tax or legal advice. Figures are for the 2025/26 UK tax year. See our methodology and sources.