The Christmas bonus is worth just £10 and is paid to people claiming certain benefits such as Attendance Allowance, Pension Credit and Personal Independence Payment
Millions of people are being paid a Christmas bonus from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
The Christmas bonus is worth just £10 and is paid to people claiming certain benefits such as Attendance Allowance, Pension Credit and Personal Independence Payment. The payment was first introduced in 1972 and would be worth £115.76 today if had kept up with inflation.
If you’re due to receive the Christmas bonus, it will appear in your bank account as “DWP XB” and is typically paid to people in early December. You don’t need to apply for it and it will not affect any other benefits you receive. If you haven’t been paid it yet, the money should land in your account by January 1 at the latest.
Do you think the £10 Christmas bonus is enough? Let us know: mirror.money.saving@mirror.co.uk
The majority of people received it in early December. You have to be in receipt of one of following benefits in the “qualifying week” – which is usually the first full week of December – to get the Christmas bonus. Check the list below to see if you should have received the money:
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Adult Disability Payment
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Armed Forces Independence Payment
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Attendance Allowance
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Carer’s Allowance
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Child Disability Payment
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Constant Attendance Allowance (paid under Industrial Injuries or War Pensions schemes)
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Contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance (once the main phase of the benefit is entered after the first 13 weeks of claim)
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Disability Living Allowance
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Incapacity Benefit at the long-term rate
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Industrial Death Benefit (for widows or widowers)
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Mobility Supplement
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Pension Credit – the guarantee element
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Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
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State Pension (including Graduated Retirement Benefit)
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Severe Disablement Allowance (transitionally protected)
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Unemployability Supplement or Allowance (paid under Industrial Injuries or War Pensions schemes)
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War Disablement Pension at State Pension age
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War Widow’s Pension
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Widowed Mother’s Allowance
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Widowed Parent’s Allowance
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Widow’s Pension
You must also be present or “ordinarily resident” in the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man or Gibraltar during the qualifying week. If you’re a married couple, in a civil partnership or living together, it is possible for both of you to get the Christmas bonus.
You each need to be claiming one of the qualifying benefits. If one partner does not receive one of the qualifying benefits, they may still be eligible for the payment, as long as they meet both of the following requirements:
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You’re both over State Pension age by the end of the qualifying week
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Your partner or civil partner was also present (or ‘ordinarily resident’) in the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man, Gibraltar, European Economic Area (EEA) country or Switzerland during the qualifying week
And either:
