Why do I not qualify for new cost of living pay of £650

Donna1961

Hi, can anyone help or advise me as to why I DO NOT qualify for the £650. I am disabled and had to finish work due to bad health . I am 61 years old and receive a small monthly pension of £435-32p and contribution based ESA of £109-88p per week . This gives me a yearly income of £10,937-60p . I also receive full PIP which I believe is not means tested therefore I have not included this. I receive council tax benefit and own my own home . I was under the impression that low income family where to get this payment of £650 but I have been told as my ESA is contribution based I do not qualify. I did receive £150 payment because of my PIP .  I feel I am being penalised for all the years I worked as this is why my ESA is contribution based because of all the NI payments I paid . 

Spoonie_Turtle

Presumably you don't qualify for a means-tested benefit, most likely because of your pension.  If you didn't have that you may have qualified for Universal Credit (or income-related ESA if your claim is old enough for that to have been possible).

lisyloo

The gov website says this:

You will not get a payment if you get New Style Employment and Support Allowance, contributory Employment and Support Allowance, or New Style Jobseeker’s Allowance, unless you get Universal Credit.

You can check the qualifying list of benefits here:

Cost of Living Payment - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

If the information you've been given is correct then sorry I can't comment on why they made the rules like that.
Plenty of low paid working people feel they've been unfairly treated too.

Spoonie_Turtle

lisyloo said:

If the information you've been given is correct then sorry I can't comment on why they made the rules like that.
Plenty of low paid working people feel they've been unfairly treated too.

It is simply that contributions-based and new-style ESA are not means-tested.  The £650 payment was for people claiming means-tested benefits.  For ESA that means income-related ESA.

[Incidentally ~40% of people claiming UC are working, so they belong to the group described as 'low paid working people'.]

poppy12345

It's because of your pension of £435 per month. Sometimes it's not worth taking a pension early because it affects means tested benefits and reduces them £1 for £1.

F70

You get over £19000 per year tax free without your council tax benefit, hardly a low income. Alot of people don't earn that much. Maybe that's why you don't qualify?

poppy12345

F70 said:

You get over £19000 per year tax free without your council tax benefit, hardly a low income. Alot of people don't earn that much. Maybe that's why you don't qualify?

They don't qualify for the £650 CoL payment because they don't claim any qualifying benefit.