- Government sends out the money in the first week of December
Millions of benefits claimants are set to get a £10 annual Christmas bonus from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
The payment is made in the first week of December to those claiming certain benefits, including Pension Credit and Personal Independence Payment (PIP).
The £10 Christmas bonus has been paid since 1972. It has never been increased, bar one year in 2008, when it was temporarily raised to £70 to help people during the financial crash.
In 1972, £10 was equivalent to around £115 in today’s money, accounting for inflation.
Don’t spend it all at once: The £10 Christmas bonus would buy you a couple of decent Christmas puddings, but not much more, as it has not gone up in value for decades
Couples can each get a £10 Christmas bonus if they each get a qualifying benefit.
If you get one of the following benefits then you should get the Christmas bonus in the first week of December:
- Adult Disability Payment
- Armed Forces Independence Payment
- Attendance Allowance
- Carer’s Allowance
- Carer Support Payment
- Child Disability Payment
- Constant Attendance Allowance (paid for industrial injuries or War Pensions )
- Contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance
- Disability Living Allowance
- Incapacity Benefit at the long-term rate
- Industrial Death Benefit (for widows or widowers)
- Mobility Supplement
- Pension Age Disability Payment
- Pension Credit – the guarantee element
- Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
- State Pension
- Severe Disablement Allowance
- Unemployability Supplement or Allowance (paid for industrial injuries or War Pensions )
- War Disablement Pension at State Pension age
- War Widow’s Pension
- Widowed Mother’s Allowance
- Widowed Parent’s Allowance
- Widow’s Pension
You do not need to claim the Christmas bonus, which should be paid automatically into your bank account.
The bonus does not affect any other benefits, and is tax free.
The payment should show up as ‘DWP XB’ on your bank statements.
However, to get the Christmas bonus you have to be living in, or ‘ordinarily resident’ in the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man or Gibraltar during the ‘qualifying week’ – the first week of December.