Eligible benefit recipients including those on State Pension, PIP and other qualifying benefits will receive the £10 Christmas Bonus automatically by December 31
Close to 24 million individuals throughout the UK are drawing at least one benefit from the Department for Work and Pensions ( DWP ), with 13 million elderly recipients getting State Pension payments – categorised as a ‘contributory benefit’.
Most of these claimants should expect a £10 Christmas Bonus from the DWP before December 31 – with payments beginning to hit bank accounts last week.
The payments show up on bank statements as a Bank Giro Credit transaction displaying the recipient’s National Insurance number followed by ‘DWP Xb’.
Yet, official GOV.UK guidance outlines the steps to take if the funds haven’t arrived by Hogmanay, reports the Daily Record.
It advises: “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.”
Jobcentre Plus branches and telephone lines remain shut on New Year’s Day, but resume operations in England and Wales on Friday, January 2.
North of the border, Scottish Jobcentres and phone services are closed on New Year’s Day and Friday, January 2, reopening on Monday, January 5.
This year marks a milestone for Scots claiming the new Pension Age Disability Payment – a devolved benefit that has replaced Attendance Allowance in Scotland – who will also receive the £10, provided their application succeeds.
Likewise, recipients of Adult Disability Payment, Child Disability Payment or Carer Support Payment are entitled to the payment – though it originates from the DWP rather than Social Security Scotland. The DWP ‘Christmas Bonus’ represents a one-off, tax-free £10 payment distributed to individuals receiving specific benefits – though Universal Credit claimants are excluded.
It’s important to note that the DWP processes this as a standalone payment, separate from your regular State Pension or benefit instalment, meaning it could land in your account on a different date.
This £10 Christmas Bonus was established under Ted Heath’s Conservative administration in 1972, and remarkably hasn’t been reviewed or enhanced since its inception more than 50 years ago – in current terms, it would be valued at approximately £118 according to the composite price index from the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Who qualifies for the £10 Christmas Bonus?
To be entitled to the Christmas Bonus, you must be present or ‘ordinarily resident’ within the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man, or Gibraltar throughout the qualifying period of December 1-7.
The DWP sends letters to qualifying claimants informing them of their forthcoming £10 bonus in December, though this correspondence usually arrives following the actual payment.
Qualifying benefits
You must also receive at least one of these benefits during 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
However, not all individuals beyond State Pension age will receive this payment, as DWP guidance on GOV.UK clarifies: “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 guidelines clarify that if you’re married, in a civil partnership, or living together as though you are, and both of you receive one of the qualifying benefits, you’ll each be entitled to a £10 Christmas Bonus payment.
Even if your partner or civil partner doesn’t receive one of the qualifying benefits, they might still be eligible for the Christmas Bonus if certain conditions are met:
- 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
There’s no need to apply for the Christmas Bonus – it should be automatically credited to you before 1 January 2026. You can learn more about the Christmas Bonus on the GOV.UK website here.
