The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will be sending a one-off bonus payment to state pensioners this winter under Andy Burnham’s government. The bonus is a one-off tax-free payment of £10 that is paid to people in receipt of certain benefits, including the State Pension, before Christmas.
The payment was first introduced by the UK government in 1972 and has been awarded to people claiming certain benefits ever since, but it has never increased in line with inflation, meaning those who are eligible in 2026 are set to receive the same amount as those over the past 50 years.
Payment expected to proceed as planned
New Prime Minister Andy Burnham inherits the current Christmas Bonus system from his predecessors and as he’s vowed to lead a “cost of living government”, it’s unlikely that the payment will undergo a massive overhaul. Any potential changes to the bonus would not be announced until the Autumn Budget on October 28, so for now, the payments are expected to proceed as planned later this year.
The £10 bonus will automatically be paid into your bank account by the DWP if you are eligible so you don’t need to apply and will appear on your bank statement as ‘DWP XB’. The DWP normally issues the payment in December and to get it, you must be receiving certain benefits within the qualifying week, which is normally the first full week of December.
Qualifying benefits and eligibility
To get the bonus you must live, or be “ordinarily resident” in the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man or Gibraltar, and be getting at least one of the following benefits in the qualifying week:
- Adult Disability Payment
- Armed Forces Independence Payment
- Attendance Allowance
- Carer’s Allowance
- Carer Support Payment
- 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 Age Disability Payment
- Pension Credit - the guarantee element
- Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
- Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance (SADLA)
- Severe Disablement Allowance (transitionally protected)
- State Pension (including Graduated Retirement Benefit)
- 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
If you’re married, in a civil partnership, or living together as if you are, and you both receive at least one of the qualifying benefits, you will each get the Christmas Bonus from the DWP.
Automatic payment and contact details
The DWP said: “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. “You do not need to claim the Christmas Bonus - you should get it automatically. 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.”
