New cost of living payments worth up to £1,350 announced for millions of people next year

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has announced it expects to complete the correction exercise into State Pension underpayments for two groups of claimants by the end of next year. The Pensions Minister said on Monday the exercise for those on CAT BL and CAT D should be completed in 2023, but could run through to “late 2024”

During the Autumn Statement last month, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced a series of new cost of living payments to help millions of households across the country mitigate the impact of ever-increasing inflation and rising energy bills during 2023/24.

The latest figures from the Treasury suggest there were 36,900 people in work claiming the Blind Person’s Allowance in 2021-22. The Blind Person's Allowance provides an extra amount of tax-free earnings for individuals who are registered as blind and is set at £2,600 for 2022-23.

Israel’s Keshet-organized INTV is returning to Jerusalem next year after four years off, with Reshet boarding as partner.

The UK Government has said it is working to deliver the £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) to people who do not have a direct electricity connection with their supplier “as soon as possible”. This includes private tenants with an all-inclusive rental agreement and people living in park homes or a houseboat.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has announced that it will continue to encourage more than 11 million older people to check if they qualify for an annual income top-up worth, on average, more than £3,500 throughout December and the new year.

Scots comedian Paul Black has announced a brand new show coming to Glasgow next year.

Millions of people across the UK claiming disability benefits from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and Social Security Scotland are set for a bumper payment boost next year following the Autumn Statement.

Basic and New State Pension payments will increase next year by 10.1% after weeks of uncertainty for nearly 12.5 million older people across the UK. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) had declined to commit to whether the Triple Lock rule would return for the 2023/24 financial year after a temporary pause due to the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

An estimated 19.2 million families and 39.8 million individuals across the UK currently in receipt of State Pension or benefits from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will see their payments go up by 10.1% next year.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has announced that State Pension, Pension Credit and benefits will be uprated in line with inflation next year. Delivering his Autumn Statement to the House of Commons on Thursday, Mr Hunt confirmed an increase of 10.1% from next April at a cost of £11 billion for the UK Government.

The most recent report by the public spending watchdog on the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) accounts has revealed that around 237,000 people over State Pension age have been underpaid a total of £1.46 billion. The underpayments average around £8,900 per person.

New figures released by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) reveal that more than four million children are living in families which receive Universal Credit. The official data shows that in August, some 4,030,796 children were living in households receiving the benefit - an increase of 124,471 since May when the figure was 3,906,325.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has shared important new information about the £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) to those using traditional pre-payment meters. Earlier this month, PayPoint highlighted how hundreds of thousands of energy customers have not yet redeemed their top-up voucher, worth £66.

The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation reached 10.1% in September. This matches the 40-year high inflation hit in July and remains well above the UK Government’s target of 2%.

A pensions expert is warning 12.5 million older people across the UK to prepare for a financial blow next week when Chancellor Jeremy Hunt delivers the Autumn Statement. Ray Black, managing director of chartered financial planning firm, Money Minder, suggests there may be “continued restrictions on State Pension uprating”, higher taxes and more controversially, an increase to National Insurance contributions from April announced on November 17.