UK households claiming certain benefits will be sent a free one-off payment from the government this December.

The tax-free £10 Christmas Bonus will be paid to those who are eligible by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in the ‘qualifying week’ next month.

The DWP has said this is normally the first full week of December, so eligible households should receive the money by December 8.

The £10 bonus is paid automatically so you don’t need to do anything to get it, but you do have to meet certain criteria to qualify.

The DWP says you must live, or be “ordinarily resident” in the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man or Gibraltar, during the qualifying week, which is from December 2 to December 8.

You must also have received at least one of these 23 benefits during this qualifying period to be eligible for the payment:

• 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)
Advertisement
• 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 Age Disability Payment
• 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 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

You won’t get the Christmas Bonus if you haven’t claimed your State Pension and you’re not entitled to one of the other qualifying benefits.

If you’re a married couple, in a civil partnership, or living together as if you are, and you both receive at least one of the above qualifying benefits, then you will each get a Christmas Bonus payment from the DWP.

If your partner doesn’t get one of the qualifying benefits, they may still be eligible for the payment if both of the following apply:

• you’re both over State Pension age by the end of the qualifying week
• 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
Advertisement

and either:

• you’re entitled to an increase of a qualifying benefit for your partner or civil partner
• the only qualifying benefit you’re getting is Pension Credit

The free £10 will be sent directly to your bank account by the DWP in the first week of December and should appear as ‘DWP XB’ on your bank statement.

If you think you’re entitled to the £10 Christmas Bonus but you haven’t received it in the first week of December then you should contact the Jobcentre Plus office that deals with your payments or the Pension Service.