Hargreaves Lansdown senior personal finance analyst, Sarah Coles has laid out 25 key personal finance dates to note down in your diary in the run-up to Christmas.
Coles says: “If you’re counting the days until you’ll get help with runaway price rises, it helps to know exactly how many days there are left to count. And if you’re bracing yourself for blows and bad news, you need to know when they’re coming too.
“There’s still no formal announcement about some of the most important dates – including the second cost-of-living payment for people on Universal Credit – but some key dates are already in the diary and are worth knowing about.”
The dates are:
2 September
Over a million families on tax credits get their first cost-of-living payment from 2 September. The £326 is paid automatically into bank accounts, and there will be a second payment during the winter.
5 September
The new Prime Minister will be announced today – which will give us an idea of what to expect in terms of financial support with rocketing prices.
September
In England, a law to protect parents from needless school uniform costs for branded items is expected this month – the law already exists in Scotland. However, schools will have until September 2023 to bring the changes in if it means they need to find a new supplier.
13 September
Wage data announced today feeds into the triple lock guarantee for the rise in state pensions in April. This figure isn’t expected to drive the increase, because the inflation figure – measured in September and announced in October – is likely to be higher.
14 September or 21 September
If foreign secretary Liz Truss becomes the new Prime Minister, we’re expecting a financial statement, laying out plans to help with the cost-of-living crisis and key financial changes.
15 September
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee will make its next interest rate announcement, and at the moment a 0.5 percentage point rise is widely predicted.
20 September
The £150 disability cost-of-living payment will be paid out from today. Anyone who qualifies will receive the money automatically and most will do so by the start of October.
22 September
The new UK and London Living Wage rates for 2022-2023 will be announced. This is the voluntary real living wage – rather than the government minimum.
30 September
Old £20 and £50 notes will be withdrawn. You won’t be able to spend them in stores, but you will still be able to pay them into your bank, and the Bank of England will continue to exchange all withdrawn notes.
September
The law is expected to change to allow unmarried parents to claim bereavement benefits.
1 October
The horrendous 80% hike in the energy price cap will hit – pushing the cost per year for dual fuel for an average household from £1,971 to £3,549.
1 October
This is the Don’t Pay protest deadline. If a million people sign up to take part by this point, it will encourage people to cancel their energy bill direct debits in protest at price rises. Anyone considering joining the campaign needs to appreciate that their energy supplier will still pursue the money, you will be building up debts, and not paying could have a profound impact on your credit rating. The supplier could insist on installing a pre-payment meter, so you can’t use energy without paying for it – and the cost of energy will be even higher as a result.
5 October
HMRC deadline to register for self-assessment tax returns.
31 October
Deadline for submitting paper tax returns.
October
All households who pay an energy bill direct will get £400 paid directly to their provider in instalments between October and March.
October
The warm home discount is a £150 rebate paid by suppliers sometime between October and March. If you’re eligible, and your provider is part of the scheme, you will usually receive it automatically now in England and Wales.
October 19
September’s inflation figure is announced today. This is used as one of the measures in the triple lock on the state pension, and is used as the basis for uprating benefits too. This raises concerns this year, because it won’t reflect October’s energy price cap hike or any further rises in January and April next year, so by the time the inflationary increase kicks in next April, prices could have risen significantly beyond this level.
End of October
If the new Prime Minister doesn’t make earlier financial changes, the Budget would usually be due at the end of October.
Autumn
The first cost-of-living payment for people on universal credit, pension credit and other means-tested benefits was made in July. The second – of £324 – will be made in the autumn, but the date hasn’t been announced yet
November
The cost-of-living payment for pensioners is being rolled up and paid with the winter fuel allowance – which is paid to anyone over state pension age in November or December. The total you receive will depend on your age and living circumstances.
From November
Cold Weather payments may be made from this point. In England and Wales, older people and those on specific benefits will get £25 for each seven-day period between November and the end of March that the average temperature is below freezing. In Scotland, this has been replaced by a £50 one-off payment made to everyone who qualifies in February, regardless of how low the temperature gets.
3 November
Interest rate announcement. At the moment the market is expecting another rise, which could be as much as 0.5 percentage points.
24 November
The energy price cap for January is announced, and it’s widely expected to bring more bad news.
25 November
Black Friday.
28 November
Cyber Monday.
