Cost of living payment: Martin Lewis predicts when autumn instalment of £300 will hit bank accounts

Martin Lewis has predicted when the autumn £300 cost of living payment will land in bank accounts. The Government has promised those who are entitled to the cash boost £300 over the coming weeks - the second instalment this year as part of a wider package of support totalling £900.

You may be entitled to the payments if you claim income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), Income Support, Pension Credit, Universal Credit, Pension Credit or Working Tax Credit. Those eligible should already have received the first instalment of £301 paid between April 25 and May 17 for most people on DWP benefits and May 2 and 9 for most people on Tax Credits.

The Government is yet to release the exact date people will start to receive the autumn cost of living payment. But at the beginning of this year, Martin Lewis estimated on X (formerly Twitter) that the £300 payment would arrive in the “last quarter” of 2023.

Updating his 2.1m followers, the Money Saving Expert founder predicted the autumn payment of £300 would land in October or November. He expects the third and last payment of £299 will land before the current tax year ends on April 6 2024.

When are the cost of living payments paid?

If you’re entitled, you will receive, or have alreday received:

• £301 paid between 25 April 2023 and 17 May 2023 for most people on DWP benefits
• £301 paid between 2 and 9 May 2023 for most people on tax credits and no other low income benefits
• £300 paid during autumn 2023 for most people
• £299 paid during spring 2024 for most people

If you qualify for cost of living payments, you don’t need to apply for them - you should be paid automatically in the same way you usually get your benefits or tax credits. If you get benefits from the DWP, the reference for the payment will be ‘DWP COLP’, along with your national insurance number. For Tax Credits-only recipients, the payment reference will be ‘HMRC COLS’.

For more information visit the gov.uk website.