![\"Millions](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0_JS312235878.jpg\")
Millions of people claim benefits(Image: Dominic Lipinski\/PA Wire)<\/p>\nManaging the cost of living remains a daily struggle for millions of peopleMillions of people claim benefits(Image: Dominic Lipinski\/PA Wire)<\/p>\n
In the UK, one in three people are claiming some sort of DWP-administered benefits<\/a>. According to figures from Policy in Practice, \u00a323bn worth of benefits go unclaimed each year.<\/p>\n Up to 24m people were claiming a combination of DWP benefits <\/a>in February 2025. 13.2m were of State Pension Age (including those in receipt of their State Pension) 10m were of working age and 800,000 were under 16, and in receipt of DLA as a child. Data from January 2024 shows there were 6.4m people on Universal Credit <\/a>and 163,000 households were receiving the Universal Credit childcare element in November 2023.<\/p>\n There were 3.9m people on some sort of health-related benefit over 2023-24<\/a>.<\/p>\n For millions in the country, managing the cost of living remains a daily struggle as prices continue to rise faster than household incomes.<\/p>\n Recent research from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation found that low-income families in the UK are on course for the worst fall in living standards on record by the next election in 2029.<\/p>\n One of the financial changes set to be implemented from next month are energy prices. Ofgem has announced a 2% rise in the energy price cap from October 1, affecting typical households across England, Scotland and Wales.<\/p>\n This increase will result in an approximate monthly bill hike of \u00a32.93 for the average household, meaning homes on a default tariff will be paying \u00a3102 for what currently costs \u00a3100 per month<\/a>.<\/p>\n The new cap means that the typical household will pay \u00a31,755 annually for gas and electricity, for a standard dual-fuel direct debit plan. That’s an increase of about 2%, and represents an extra \u00a335 a year on average, or \u00a32.93 per month.<\/p>\n The DWP payment dates for next month are below, they should be routine as there are no bank holidays this month. You can find further information about your benefits via Gov.uk<\/a> and other support that may be available to you.<\/p>\n In October, benefit payment dates will be going out as normal as there are no bank holidays that can cause a schedule change. Benefits that will be sent out this month include:<\/p>\n Pension payment dates in October<\/strong><\/p>\n Pension payments are paid straight into bank accounts. This is usually paid every four weeks, and the exact date you receive it will correspond to the last two digits of National Insurance (NI) numbers. Here is when you could be paid into your account, based on those numbers:<\/p>\n In April, all benefits were uprated by 1.7%, matching the September 2024 inflation figure. The increase applied to all working-age benefits, including Universal Credit, PIP, DLA, Attendance Allowance, Carer\u2019s Allowance, ESA and others.<\/p>\n\n
\n