The DWP will give one-time Christmas bonuses to recipients of a number of benefits, including PIP and Universal Credit. £10 will be transferred to bank accounts to help with holiday expenses.
The incentive is in addition to claimants’ regular payouts and stands fully apart from the government-instituted cost-of-living adjustment. The tax-free £10 payment, according to the government, should arrive in eligible recipients’ bank accounts the first week of December.
The majority of Universal Credit recipients ought to receive the Christmas Bonus, but those who just receive Universal Credit and no other benefits won’t. People should receive the money automatically, without having to do anything.
The Government says: “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 – you should get paid automatically.” To be eligible, you must receive one of the following benefits:
- 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 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
It comes as Chancellor Jeremy Hunt unveiled a variety of new cost-of-living assistance programmes to help individuals get through the upcoming year as the cost-of-living problem persists. For recipients of some means-tested benefits, £900 will be paid.
Changes to the Energy Price Cap would cause normal bills to increase by £500 year to a whopping $3,000, so families will need all the aid they can get.
