State pensioners set to receive Christmas Bonus from tomorrow
State Pension: Expert outlines criteria to qualify
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Many state pensioners will be grappling with rising costs and skyrocketing bills. Simultaneously, Christmas is now just weeks away and planning towards the event can be tiresome and costly.
To acknowledge this, every year the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) provides a Christmas Bonus.
This is a one-off tax-free payment issued to eligible people before Christmas.
The festive season has rolled around once again, and individuals can expect to start receiving this bonus from tomorrow.
This is because Monday, December 5 marks the start of the first full week of December – when the bonus is normally issued.
Thankfully, people will not have to take any action to claim their Christmas Bonus.
Eligible people should receive the sum from the DWP automatically.
At present, the Christmas Bonus is a payment of £10 on a one-off basis.
Some argue this sum is too small, but it could simply provide an extra bit of cash to go towards Christmas presents, festive dinner, or to be kept in one’s back pocket.
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People do not have to worry about the Christmas Bonus impacting any other benefits they receive.
How will people know if they have got their Christmas Bonus?
The Christmas Bonus is typically paid into the bank, building society or credit union account a person normally receives their payments or benefits.
To help, it is likely to show up as ‘DWP XB’ on a bank statement.
Those who think they should get the Christmas Bonus but who have not can take action.
The Government states these individuals should reach out to the Pension Service, or the Jobcentre Plus office which deals with their payments.
To be eligible for a Christmas Bonus, a person must be present or “ordinarily resident” in the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man or Gibraltar during the qualifying week.
State pensioners will be eligible, however, the bonus is also available to those in receipt 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)
- 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.
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Those who have not claimed a state pension and who are not entitled to at least one of the other qualifying benefits will not get a Christmas Bonus.
Some state pensioners will also see their payment dates impacted due to Christmas-related bank holidays.
This year, a Christmas Day bank holiday has been built into the calendar on Tuesday, December 27 – as December 25 is on a weekend.
As such, people expecting their state pension on this date should be paid early.
The last working day before Christmas is Friday, December 23, 2022.
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