Skip to content

Pension Credit cost of living payment eligibility

10 August 2022

If your role involves working with anyone receiving Pension Credit you may know that they will automatically be paid the cost of living payments – they could be entitled to an extra £650, paid in two instalments. 


To be eligible for the first cost of living payment, a person must be entitled to a payment of Pension Credit on any day from 26 April to 25 May 2022. However, new claims for Pension Credit can be backdated for a maximum of three months provided the entitlement conditions are met throughout the three months.

To guarantee that 25 May will be included in the first Pension Credit payment for pensioners wishing to backdate a new claim, the Department for Work and Pensions is advising that claims should be made as soon as possible and no later than 18 August.

Please let anyone you work with, friends or family, who are eligible know that they should make a claim as soon as possible. If people aren’t sure, they can use this Pension Credit calculator to see if they qualify.