The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is set to distribute a one-off Christmas bonus to millions of eligible recipients. The government department will provide a £10 top-up to certain people who claim any of the qualifying benefits, in a bid to offer extra support during the festive season.
The benefits include Carer’s Allowance, Pension Credit, Personal Independence Payments (PIP), among others. The payment will be made automatically, so there’s no need for claimants to apply.
It’s expected that the payment should arrive in the early days of December, so a few weeks before Christmas. Those who qualify should automatically receive the payment in their bank account from early next month, with ‘DWP XB’ being the descriptor appearing on bank statements for this payment.
If someone believes they are due but do not receive the payment by the end of December, the DWP encourages contact from January 1, at which time all payments should have been completed. To qualify for the DWP Christmas Bonus, you need to be present or ‘ordinally resident’ within the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man or Gibraltar during the first full week of December, which serves as the qualifying week.
Eligible individuals must be recipients of any of the following:
- Pension Credit (the guarantee element)
- Adult Disability Payment
- State Pension (including Graduated Retirement Benefit)
- War Widow’s Pension
- Constant Attendance Allowance (paid under Industrial Injuries or War Pensions schemes)
- Unemployability Supplement or Allowance (paid under Industrial Injuries or War Pensions schemes)
- Attendance Allowance
- Armed Forces Independence Payment
- Disability Living Allowance
- Pension Age Disability Payment
- Mobility Supplement
- Child Disability Payment
- Widowed Mother’s Allowance
- Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
- Incapacity Benefit at the long-term rate
- Industrial Death Benefit (for widows or widowers)
- Contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance (once the main phase of the benefit is entered after the first 13 weeks of claim)
- Severe Disablement Allowance (transitionally protected)
- Carer’s Allowance
- Carer Support Payment
- Widow’s Pension
- Widowed Parent’s Allowance
- War Disablement Pension at State Pension age
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) added: “If you have not claimed your State Pension and are not entitled to one of the other qualifying benefits you will not get a Christmas Bonus.”
Additionally, for couples in matrimony, civil partnerships, or cohabitation, where both individuals receive a qualifying benefit, can each expect their own Christmas Bonus payment.
Could I receive more than £10?
The Christmas Bonus is a one-off payment of £10. Recently, disgruntled benefit claimants have urged the government to raise this amount, arguing that a mere £10 handout is an ‘insult’ in the face of the ongoing cost of living crisis.
It has been routinely argued that the Christmas Bonus would be worth much more now if it had risen with inflation since its inception in the 1970s, with some stating it should now be over £100.
