If you don’t have enough money to live on, you might be able to get help to afford essentials like bills and food. This includes the Household Support Fund and cost of living payments.

You should check if you can claim benefits – you might be able to do this even if you work, have savings or own a home.

Check what benefits you can get

Lots of people miss out on benefits they’re entitled to – so it’s worth checking what you can get.

Claiming benefits might also let you get access to other financial help like cost of living payments and discounts on energy and transport.

You might be able to claim benefits or increase your current benefits if you’re:

• over 16 years old with a low income or no income

• sick or disabled, including if you have a mental health condition

• of State Pension age with a low income or no income

• a carer

• responsible for children

Get your first benefit payment early

When you apply for benefits, you might be able to get your first payment early while you’re waiting for either:

• a decision on your application

• your first payment

This is called a ‘short-term benefit advance’. You can get an advance for:

• Universal Credit

• Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)

• Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)

• Carer’s Allowance

• Pension Credit

• State Pension

You’ll need to pay back the advance. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will take an amount off your future payments until you’ve paid it back. For Universal Credit, you can spread the repayments over 24 months. For other benefits, you’ll usually repay your advance over 12 weeks.

Check if you’ll get a Cost of Living Payment

The government will send you a ‘Cost of Living Payment’ if you:

• get a benefit based on your income – for example, Universal Credit, Pension Credit, or tax credits

• are over State Pension age and get Winter Fuel Payments

You’ll get 1 Cost of Living Payment for each type of benefit you get. For example, if you get Universal Credit and Winter Fuel Payments, you’ll get 2 Cost of Living Payments

Get help with your energy bills

If you’re struggling to pay your energy bills or top up your prepayment meter, you might be able to get help – for example a fuel voucher or a grant from your energy supplier.

Check how to make your home more energy efficient

If your home is energy efficient, you’ll pay less to heat your home and it will stay warm for longer.

It’s a good idea to look into making your home more energy efficient at any time of the year. This is because it can take a few months to sort things out – for example, to find someone who can do the work.

You might be able to apply for help with the cost of:

• a new boiler

• boiler repairs

• loft or cavity wall insulation

• a heat pump

Get help with essential costs

Your local council might help you pay for things like:

• your energy and water bills

• food

• essential items – for example, clothes or an oven

This help is known as ‘welfare assistance’ or the ‘Household Support Fund’. Each council runs their own scheme. You’ll need to check if you can get support and what type of support you can get.

Ask your local council if they run a welfare assistance or Household Support Fund scheme. You can find out how to contact your local council on GOV.UK.

You don’t have to be getting benefits to get help from your local council. If you do get benefits, they won’t be affected if you start getting money from a welfare assistance or Household Support Fund scheme.

There are also other things you can do if you’re struggling to afford essentials like rent or food.

If you’re struggling to pay for food, you might be able to get a referral to a food bank.

Work out your budget

You should use a budgeting tool to help you understand:

• what money you’ve got coming in and what you have going out

• where you might be able to cut costs

Apply for a charitable grant

You might be able to get extra money from a charity to help with living costs. Some of these charitable grants are open to everyone. Others might be available based on your situation, for example:

• if you have a disability or health condition

• your age

• your previous or current job

If you’re over 55 and have a personal pension

You might be able to take some money from your pension savings to help pay for essential costs or to pay off your debts.

You should think about whether taking money from your pension is the best financial decision for you. Taking money from your pension will mean you have less income when you retire. If you’re getting benefits, taking money from your pension could affect your claim