People will receive the DWP Christmas Bonus if they are eligible during the December qualifying period.

Nearly 24 million people across the UK are in receipt of at least one benefit from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), including 13 million older people receiving State Pension payments – classed as a ‘contributory benefit’.

Many of those people should receive a £10 Christmas Bonus from the DWP by December 31 – payments started landing in bank accounts last week. The payments appear on bank statements as a Bank Giro Credit transaction with the claimant’s National Insurance number followed by ‘DWP Xb’.

However, guidance on GOV.UK explains what to do if the money hasn’t arrived by Hogmanay. It states: “If you think you should get it, but have not by 1 January, contact the Jobcentre Plus office that deals with your payments or the Pension Service.”

READ MORE: DWP confirms New Year payment date changes this week for people on State Pension or benefitsREAD MORE: Full list of one-off payments due to land in banks accounts before New Year’s Day

Jobcentre Plus offices and phone lines are closed on New Year’s Day, but re-open in England and Wales on Friday, January 2.

Scottish Jobcentres and phone lines are closed on New Year’s Day and Friday, January 2, they re-open on Monday, January 5.

This year, people in Scotland claiming the new Pension Age Disability Payment – a devolved benefit that has now replaced Attendance Allowance north of the border – will also qualify for the £10, if their claim is successful.

Similarly, those on Adult Disability Payment, Child Disability Payment or Carer Support Payment, are also eligible for the payment – but it will come from DWP and not Social Security Scotland.

The DWP ‘Christmas Bonus’ is a one-off, tax-free payment of £10 made to people in receipt of certain benefits – but not Universal Credit.

It’s worth noting that the DWP will issue this as a separate payment, independent of your scheduled State Pension or benefit payment, so it may arrive on a different day.

The £10 Christmas Bonus was introduced by Ted Heath’s Conservative Government in 1972. It has not been uprated or increased since it launched over five decades ago and in today’s money, it would be worth around £118 – when calculated under the composite price index published by the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Who is eligible for the £10 Christmas Bonus?

To qualify for the Christmas Bonus you must be present or ‘ordinarily resident’ in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man, Gibraltar, during the qualifying week of December 1 – 7.

The DWP will write to eligible claimants advising them that they will be receiving the £10 bonus in December, but this typically arrives after the payment has been made.

Qualifying benefits

You must also get at least one of the following benefits in the qualifying week:

  • Adult Disability Payment (Scotland only)
  • Armed Forces Independence Payment
  • Attendance Allowance
  • Carer’s Allowance
  • Carer Support Payment (Scotland only)
  • Child Disability Payment (Scotland only)
  • 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 Age Disability Payment (Scotland only)
  • Pension Credit – the guarantee element
  • Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
  • Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance (SADLA)
  • 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

Not everyone over State Pension age will get the payment, DWP guidance on GOV.UK explains: “If you have not claimed your State Pension and are not entitled to one of the other qualifying benefits you will not get a Christmas Bonus.”

Married or cohabiting couples and civil partnerships

The DWP guidance explains that if you’re part of a married couple, in a civil partnership or living together as if you are and you both get one of the qualifying benefits you will each get a £10 Christmas Bonus payment.

If your partner or civil partner does not get one of the qualifying benefits, they may still get the Christmas Bonus if both 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

One of the following must also apply:

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

How to claim

You do not need to claim the Christmas Bonus – you should get it automatically before January 1, 2026.. Find out more about the Christmas Bonus on GOV.UK here.

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