Millions of people claiming certain benefits from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have started to receive a bonus payment in their bank accounts. The £10 annual bonus is made automatically which arrives separately from a claimant’s regular State Pension or benefit payment.
Qualifying week for the £10 payment took place in the first full week of December, anyone in receipt of one of State Pension or one of the 20 qualifying benefits during that period should automatically receive the payment this month. Several members of the Daily Record Money Saving Scotland Facebook group have shared that payments started landing in accounts on Thursday, December 15 and have continued into the weekend.
The payment will appear in your online bank account or statement as a ‘Bank Giro Credit’ with ‘REF’ followed by your National Insurance number and the benefit or payment it is attributed to. DWP has also previously said it may appear as ‘DWP XB’.
People in Scotland claiming the new Adult Disability Payment or Child Disability Payment will also be eligible for the payment this year.
The DWP will also send a letter to eligible claimants confirming the £10 payment, however, this tends to arrive after the money has landed in accounts and may be delayed this year due to the ongoing postal strikes.
Eligibility for the DWP £10 Christmas Bonus
To qualify for the Christmas Bonus you must be living in the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man, Gibraltar, any European Economic Area (EEA) country, or Switzerland during the qualifying week, which this year fell between December 5 - 11.
You must also get at least one of the following benefits in the qualifying week:
- 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
Not everyone over State Pension age will get the payment, DWP 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.”
If you’re part of a married couple, in a civil partnership or living together and you both get one of the qualifying benefits you will each get a Christmas Bonus payment.
How to claim
You do not need to claim the £10 Christmas Bonus - you should get it automatically.
If you think you should get it, but do not receive it in December, contact the Jobcentre Plus office that deals with your payments or the Pension Service.
Find out more about the Christmas Bonus on GOV.UK here.
To keep up to date with the latest benefits news, join our Money Saving Scotland Facebook page here, or subscribe to our newsletter which goes out four times each week - sign up here.
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