Nearly 12m pensioners will start to receive up to £600 from today to fight cost of living crisis

Nearly 12million pensioners will start to receive an up to £600 cost of living payment from today to help with soaring energy bills this winter.

The support, worth more than £4.5billion, will see the money paid into directly into the bank accounts of more than 11.6million pensioners across the UK.

The money is made up of usual Winter Fuel Payments for pensioners and a boost this year of an additional £300 per household – the Pensioner Cost of Living payment.

The money will from today – in most cases automatically – land in the bank accounts of pensioners over the next two months.

Nearly 12million pensioners will start to receive an up to £600 cost of living payment from today to help with soaring energy bills this winter (file photo)

Not all state pensioners will receive the money today, but the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said most payments are made in November or December and should have been received by January 13.

The money will appear in bank statements with the payment reference starting with the customer’s national Insurance number followed by ‘DWP WFP’ for people in Great Britain, or ‘DFC WFP’ for people in Northern Ireland.

The overwhelming majority of Winter Fuel Payments are paid automatically but some people need to make a claim, such as those who qualify but do not receive benefits or the State Pension and have never previously received a Winter Fuel Payment.

This scheme is part of a package of government support which will help people of all ages with the cost of heating their homes, including through the £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme – which is available to eligible households in England, Scotland and Wales – and the Energy Price Guarantee, which will save typical households £900.

”We want to do everything we can to support pensioners who are often the most exposed to higher costs,’ said Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride (pictured)

Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride said: ‘We want to do everything we can to support pensioners who are often the most exposed to higher costs. That’s why we’re providing all pensioner households with an additional £300 on top of their Winter Fuel Payments to heat their homes and stay warm this winter.

‘This extra payment is just one part of the wider support package we’re delivering to help with rising bills, including the biggest State Pension increase in history. Our support doesn’t stop here.

‘As we deal with the impact of Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine and the aftermath of the pandemic, we will continue to stand by the most vulnerable, with further cost of living payments coming next year.’

To ensure that a successful backdated claim falls within the qualifying period for extra £324 cost of living help, pensioners are being urged to claim Pension Credit as soon as possible, and by no later than 18 December 2022.