{"id":84493,"date":"2023-10-31T14:19:04","date_gmt":"2023-10-31T14:19:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mylifestylemax.com\/?p=84493"},"modified":"2023-10-31T14:19:04","modified_gmt":"2023-10-31T14:19:04","slug":"martin-lewis-issues-urgent-message-to-hard-up-households-as-300-cost-of-living-cash-lands-in-bank-accounts-the-sun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mylifestylemax.com\/lifestyle\/martin-lewis-issues-urgent-message-to-hard-up-households-as-300-cost-of-living-cash-lands-in-bank-accounts-the-sun\/","title":{"rendered":"Martin Lewis issues urgent message to hard-up households as \u00a3300 cost of living cash lands in bank accounts | The Sun"},"content":{"rendered":"

MARTIN Lewis has issued an urgent message to hard-up households as the \u00a3300 cost of living payment lands in bank accounts.<\/p>\n

Speaking on Good Morning Britain this morning the consumer champion urged eligible Brits to backdate benefits claims to get the cash. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Martin explained that the next instalment of the cost of living payment is being given out from today.<\/p>\n

It's the second sum to be given out of the \u00a3900 in total to help those struggling with rising costs. <\/p>\n

The cash is being dished out from today until November 19.<\/p>\n

Crucially, you will need to have been paid one of the qualifying benefits between August 18 and September 17 to be eligible.<\/p>\n

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But, as Martin pointed out, there is a way around this for Pension Credit claimants.<\/p>\n

Speaking live he said: "The most important message I have for people about the cost of living payment, it is really important, well on most benefits you either get it or you don't at this point. <\/p>\n

"But there's a benefit called Pension Credit, which is specifically for lower income pensioners and on that one you can backdate the claim for three months.<\/p>\n

"It means that if you don't get Pension Credit and you're eligible for it, you can still get that extra \u00a3300 even if you were to claim now, or next week, or the week after."<\/p>\n

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If you're eligible you have until December 8 to make a claim for Pension Credit over the phone and until December 10 to make a claim online to get the \u00a3300 cost of living payment.<\/p>\n

This is provided you were of state pension age between August 18 and September, 17 this year.<\/p>\n

It doesn't matter if you were only eligible for a day – as long as this day was within the qualifying period you'll get the cost of living payment.<\/p>\n

This will ensure that any payments can be backdated and fall within the qualifying period for the \u00a3300 cost of living payment.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, it's no longer possible for these applicants to get the first \u00a3301 payment, but it's still possible to get the next two payments worth \u00a3599.<\/p>\n

Martin went on to add that there are nearly a million pensioners missing out on the "absolutely crucial" benefit.<\/p>\n

The most recent figures show that up to 880,000 families who are entitled to receive\u00a0Pension Credit are not claiming it.<\/p>\n

It means that there is around \u00a32.1billion of available\u00a0Pension Credit\u00a0going unclaimed.<\/p>\n

On average, the amount households are missing out on is around \u00a32,200 a year – but the payments can also be as much as \u00a33,500. <\/p>\n

Martin continued to say that his rule of thumb on it, which isn't exact, is that if you're a single pensioner earning less than \u00a3220 a week or a pensioner couple earning less than \u00a3320 a week you should check out if you could claim.<\/p>\n

He said: "Call the pension credit helpline and ask them if you're eligible, I'm not saying you will be, I'm saying you may be, and it's worth checking because that could be worth thousands of pounds and this current cost of living payment – you may still get it even if you don't claim Pension Credit yet."<\/p>\n

Who is eligible for pension credit?<\/h2>\n

Anyone over the state pension age living in\u00a0England,\u00a0Scotland\u00a0or\u00a0Wales\u00a0is eligible for pension credit.<\/p>\n

The state pension age is currently 66 for both men and women.<\/p>\n

To qualify, you'll need to have a weekly income of less than \u00a3201.05 for single people or \u00a3306.85 for couples.<\/p>\n

Your income is worked out taking into account various elements including:<\/p>\n