Following concerns regarding a possible raise in the one-time £10 payment distributed to numerous claimants, the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) has issued a response. This tax-free £10 Christmas Bonus goes out to recipients of state support such as Universal Credit, Pension Credit, and the state pension.
Introduced in 1972, its purpose was to aid individuals with additional expenditures during the festive season. Nonetheless, its value has stayed unchanged at £10 since then.
Liberal Democrat MP Anna Sabine questioned in Parliament if there were plans to revisit and increase the Christmas bonus so it can keep pace with inflation. Had the bonus been adjusted according to inflation, it would now be approximately £115, an increase of £105 from its current level.
Responding on behalf of the Labour Government, pensions minister Torsten Bell replied: “The Department has no current plans to make such an assessment. The Christmas Bonus was initially introduced as a one-off payment of £10 in 1972 and has not been uprated or increased on a yearly basis like some benefits.”
You will be eligible for the Christmas bonus if you receive a qualifying benefit in the first week of December. The payments typically go out during this same week, sometimes marked as ‘DWP XB’ in bank statements.
Those on these benefits may qualify for the payment:
- Carer’s Allowance
- Constant Attendance Allowance (paid under Industrial Injuries or War Pensions schemes)
- Pension Credit – the guarantee element
- Adult Disability Payment
- Mobility Supplement
- Widowed Parent’s Allowance
- War Widow’s Pension
- Severe Disablement Allowance (transitionally protected)
- Widow’s Pension
- Child Disability Payment
- Incapacity Benefit at the long-term rate
- Contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance (once the main phase of the benefit is entered after the first 13 weeks of claim)
- Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
- Armed Forces Independence Payment
- Carer Support Payment
- State Pension (including Graduated Retirement Benefit)
- Attendance Allowance
- Unemployability Supplement or Allowance (paid under Industrial Injuries or War Pensions schemes)
- Pension Age Disability Payment
- Industrial Death Benefit (for widows or widowers)
- War Disablement Pension at State Pension age
- Disability Living Allowance
- Widowed Mother’s Allowance.
For more details about the Christmas bonus, you can visit the Government website here.