MILLIONS of households are due cash to help with the soaring cost of living.

Payments worth between £150 and £650 are up for grabs – and many people can get more than one adding up to over £1,000 for the most hard up.

From today, September 20, people with disabilities will get their £150 cost of living cash payment.

Around six million people will get the payment direct into their bank account.

Those eligible include people getting the following benefits:

• Attendance Allowance
• Constant Attendance Allowance
• Disability Living Allowance for adults
• Disability Living Allowance for children
• Personal Independence Payment
• Adult Disability Payment (in Scotland)
• Child Disability Payment (in Scotland)
• Armed Forces Independence Payment
• War Pension Mobility Supplement

Claimants must have received, or begun an eventually successful claim for one of these benefits as of May 25 this year to be eligible for the £150 payment.

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When will the second chunk of the £650 cost of living payment land in my account?

While the first chunk of the £650 cost of living payment, worth £326, was paid to most households on benefits by the end of July.

Seven million households receiving Universal Credit, jobseeker's allowance, income support and pension credit should have now had the first payment.

Those on tax credits were paid the help from September 2.

The second instalment of the £650 cost of living payment worth £324 will follow from the autumn.

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If you're claiming benefits that qualify you for the £150 and £650, you could get £800 in total.

And then there's the £400 energy bill rebate, which is there to help with soaring energy bills.

A number of energy suppliers, including British Gas, E.ON, EDF and Shell Energy have now confirmed how they'll pay their customers.

That could bring the total cost of living payment amount to £1,200 for those struggling the most.

And pensioners are also set to get a helping hand with an extra £300 one-off payment during the winter months too.

The amount you get will depend on what you're eligible for and could be more or less than that.

The most in need could up to £1,500 through the cost of living handouts.

The cash boost was first announced by former chancellor and wannabe PM Rishi Sunak in May.

Here are all the key dates for when you can expect to get your payments.

September

There are over six million people with disabilities who will receive £150 from Tuesday, September 20.

This payment is to help those with disabilities pay for any energy intensive equipment they might have as bills continue to skyrocket.

This £150 help will be exempt from tax and will not count towards the benefit cap.

It won't have any impact on existing benefit awards either.

Meanwhile around one million people receiving tax credits should receive the first half of the £650 cost of living payment.

The government is paying tax credit claimants later than those getting DWP benefits like Universal Credit to avoid paying anyone twice.

You must have been entitled, or later found to be entitled to tax credit payments of annual awards between April 26 and May 25 to get the cash.

If you are eligible, you don't need to do anything to receive these payments – HMRC will make them automatically.

The money will be paid in the same way you usually get your tax credits.

There is a code you should look out for on your bank statement, which will let you know the payment has been received.

The second instalment for those on tax credits is due to be paid in the winter, although the government is yet to confirm a specific month or date.

Autumn

Those that received the first half of the £650 cost of living payment are set to receive the second chunk of cash in the Autumn.

The date for the second chunk worth £324 has yet to be confirmed.

However, those who later qualify for benefits may be eligible for the cash – even if they didn't get the first payment.

From October

From October, every household will start to benefit from a £400 energy bill discount.

However, the payments will be given out in six instalments between October and March.

Households will receive a £66 energy bill discount in October and November and a discount worth £67 in December, January, February and March.

The £400 discount is a grant you won't have to pay back through higher energy bills in later years.

We've listed how the leading energy suppliers plan to pay households the discount and are waiting on others to respond.

The way you'll be paid will depend on how you pay for your energy.

If you're on a credit meter the discount will come off your bills, but if you're on a prepayment meter you'll get a voucher.

The price cap will also freeze at £2,500 from October 1 for two years under the Energy Price Guarantee.

It means a typical family will pay no more than £2,500 a year for their energy bills for the next two years, saving households £1,000 a year on average.

However, the cap is just on what firms can charge customers. Your bill could be higher, based on your energy usage.

November

From November, a £300 one-off "Pensioner Cost of Living Payment" will be paid out to eight million pensioner households.

It will be given to those who already get the Winter Fuel Payment – which is worth between £100 and £300 for those over state pension age.

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The extra £300 boost will be paid on top of this support which means some eligible households will see their payments double this winter.

You can check out if you are eligible for the Winter Fuel payment in our explainer.

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