Urgent warning for households to secure £150 energy bill help this winter | The Sun

MILLIONS of households only have days left to qualify for a £150 discount on their energy bill this winter.

The Warm Home Discount is available to those on the lowest incomes to help with rising costs.

In previous years, households received a £140 discount and most had to apply for the payment.

However, you no longer have to claim to get the cash and you'll automatically qualify if you are receiving certain benefits.

Your energy supplier will dish out the payment, worth £150 this year, as long as you were receiving any of the qualifying benefits on or before Sunday August 21.

However, if you later launch a successful claim for Universal Credit, housing benefit or other benefits, you may still be able to qualify after this date.

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The eligibility for certain benefits can be backdated. So if you make a claim now you could be in the qualifying period for the Warm home Discount.

Those looking to launch successful claims for Universal Credit and housing benefit will need to do so urgently.

People have until September 19 to make sure the benefit can be backdated in time to meet the £150 discount qualifying period.

What is the Warm Home Discount?

The Warm Home Discount is an automatic £150 discount off energy bills.

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You'll need to be a recipient of one or more of the following benefits to qualify:

• Income support
• Income based jobseeker's allowance
• Income related employment and support allowance
• Housing benefit
• Universal credit
• Child tax credit
• Working tax credits
• Pension credit guaranteed
• Pension credit savings credit

If you aren't claiming any of the above benefits on August 21 you won't be eligible for the payment.

The Department for Work and Pensions, which is overseeing the scheme, will send you letter in October to confirm if you'll get the payment later on in the year.

Payments for the £150 Warm Home Discount scheme will likely begin from December.

It's up to individual energy companies to decide when they will give their customers the discount.

If you're unsure about who supplies your energy, you can find out through Find My Supplier.

How do I secure the discount if I missed the deadline?

There's a trick you can follow to become eligible for the payment even though the deadline has passed.

Housing benefit and Universal credit claims can be backdated by one month.

So you'll need to launch your claim by Monday September 19 and then successfully get it backdated for these two benefits to cover the August 21 Warm Home Discount qualifying date.

Employment and support allowance (ESA), jobseeker's allowance (JSA), pension credit, housing benefit and Universal Credit all allow first time claimants to backdate their benefit entitlement by three months.

For these benefit you'll need to put in a successful claim by Friday November 18 to make sure you qualify for the £150 bill discount.

Millions are eligible for Universal Credit – so launch claims now

The amount you will get depends on several criteria, including your age, earnings, whether you live with a partner, have children or are disabled.

The standard monthly allowance for single people aged under 25 is £344, rising to £411.51 for older claimants.

Brits that are in a couple, where both members are under 25, will get £490.60 for both people.

If either half of the couple is over 25, you'll get £596.58.

You will get extra money if you've got children or have a health or disability condition.

You can also claim more cash if you need help with your housing costs.

You may be able to get Universal Credit if:

• you’re on a low income or out of work
• you’re 18 or over – but there are some exceptions if you’re 16 to 17
• you’re under State Pension age (or your partner is)
• you and your partner have £16,000 or less in savings between you
• you live in the UK

If you're not eligible for Universal Credit, you can use the government's benefits calculator to find out what help you can get.

Some can still apply for housing benefit

Housing benefit can help you pay your rent if you’re unemployed, on a low income or claiming benefits. It’s being replaced by Universal Credit.

You can only make a new claim for housing benefit if either of the following apply:

• you have reached state pension age
• you’re in supported, sheltered or temporary housing

Check if you’re eligible for housing benefit before you apply.

You can apply:

• Through your local council
• Or as part of a pension credit claim.

Check other benefits and help you can get

It's also worth noting that millions of Brits are missing out on other benefits they're entitled to adding up to billions of pounds in total.

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Benefit calculators can help you check what you could be entitled to.

There are several benefit checker tools you can use – here's our guide.

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