One-off tax-free payments will be made in the coming weeks
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is set to pay a Christmas Bonus to people on State Pension, PIP and other benefits. This Christmas Bonus is a one-off tax-free £10 payment made before Christmas, paid to those who receive certain benefits in the qualifying week, typically the first full week of December.
There’s no need to claim – you should receive the payment automatically. The Christmas Bonus is a single payment of £10. If you receive more than one Christmas Bonus, get in touch with the Jobcentre Plus office that handles your payments or the Pension Service.
All benefits, pensions and allowances are usually paid into an account, such as your bank account. It may appear as ‘DWP XB’ on your bank statement, reports Birmingham Live.
To be eligible for a Christmas Bonus, you must be present or ‘ordinarily resident’ in the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man or Gibraltar during the qualifying week. You must also be receiving at least one of the following benefits in the ‘qualifying week’, which is normally the first full 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 under Industrial Injuries or War Pensions schemes).
- Contribution-based employment and support allowance (once the main phase of the benefit is entered after the first 13 weeks of claim).
- Disability living allowance.
- Incapacity benefit at the long-term rate.
- Industrial death benefit (for widows or widowers).
- Mobility aupplement.
- Pension age disability payment.
- Pension credit – the guarantee element.
- Personal independence payment (PIP).
- Scottish adult disability living allowance (SADLA).
- Severe disablement allowance (transitionally protected).
- State pension (including Graduated retirement benefit).
- Unemployability supplement or allowance (paid under Industrial injuries or War pensions schemes).
- War disablement pension at State Pension age.
- War widow’s pension.
- Widowed mother’s allowance.
- Widowed parent’s allowance.
- Widow’s pension.
If you have not claimed your State Pension and are not entitled to one of the other qualifying benefits, you will not receive a Christmas Bonus. You do not need to apply for the Christmas Bonus – it should be automatically credited to you.