Some people may miss out on this year's Christmas bonus from the Department for Work and Pensions.
The Christmas Bonus is a one-off tax-free £10 payment made before Christmas, paid to people who get certain benefits in the qualifying week. This is normally the first full week of December.
You do not need to claim the Christmas Bonus - you should get it automatically. However, the criteria for the bonus means some claimants could miss out.
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People who claim Universal Credit alone, and none of the below benefits, are not eligible and will not receive the Christmas bonus, reports WalesOnline.
Who is eligible for the Christmas bonus?
To qualify for the Christmas Bonus you must be living in the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man, Gibraltar, any European Economic Area (EEA) country, or Switzerland during the qualifying week, which this year is expected to be December 5 to 11.
The DWP will write to eligible claimants advising them that they will be receiving the £10 bonus early in December. You must also get at least one of the following benefits in the qualifying week:
- Adult disability payment
- Armed Forces independence payment
- Attendance allowance
- Carer’s allowance
- 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 supplement
- Pension credit - the guarantee element
- Personal independence payment (PIP)
- State pension (including Graduated Retirement Benefit)
- Severe disablement allowance (transitionally protected)
- Unemployability supplement or allowance (paid under Iindustrial 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
You must be claiming one of these benefits in order to get the bonus. This means many people, including those who claim universal credit and none of the above payments, are not eligible and will not receive the Christmas bonus.
How do I get the Christmas bonus?
You do not need to claim the Christmas bonus - you should get it automatically. If you think you should get it, but do not receive it in December, contact the Jobcentre Plus office that deals with your payments or the pension service. It’s worth noting that the DWP will make this as a separate payment, independent of your usual one, so it may arrive on a different day.
No date has been set for the payment yet but it is likely to be in early December. Nobody needs to claim the extra £10 as it should automatically go into the account where you usually receive your benefit payments or state Pension and will show as ‘DWP XB’ on your bank statement. Find out more about the Christmas Bonus on GOV.UK here.
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