The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has been accused of “insulting” families by offering a Christmas bonus of just £10.
The DWP pays the extra cash at the start of December to those on legacy benefits. It was introduced in 1972 and has stayed at £10 ever since, except in 2008 when it was temporarily increased to £70 to support people during the financial crash.
It was reduced back to £10 the following year. The £10 would be worth £113 today if it had kept up with inflation, according to an Office for National Statistics (ONS) calculator. One Mirror reader emailed us and said: “It is an insult and a tick box exercise by the DWP to show they are not Scrooge.”
Another commented: “The £10 Christmas bonus really is not enough. It won't even heat a person's home for a week, and food prices such as a loaf of bread have risen drastically.” A third person emailed: “The £10 bonus does NOT help. 51 years is a long time without a raise.”
Brits who receive one of the following benefits in the "qualifying week" - which is usually the first full week of December - will receive the bonus. They must also be present or "ordinarily resident" in the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man or Gibraltar during 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
If you haven’t claimed your State Pension yet, and you are not entitled to one of the other qualifying benefits, you will not receive the bonus. Those who believe they qualify and don't receive the payment should contact their nearest Jobcentre Plus or The Pension Service.
If you’re a married couple, in a civil partnership or living together, it is possible for both of you to get the Christmas bonus. You each need to be claiming one of the qualifying benefits.
If one partner does not receive one of the qualifying benefits, they may still be eligible for the payment, as long as they meet both of the following requirements:
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
And either:
You’re entitled to an increase of a qualifying benefit for your partner or civil partner
The only qualifying benefit you’re getting is Pension Credit
The Christmas payment may show up as "DWP XB" on your bank statement, is tax-free, and does not affect any of your other benefits. If you’re entitled to the £10 cash, then it should get paid automatically - you won’t need to apply for it.
A DWP spokesperson said: "We are helping households with record financial support worth an average of £3,300 per household over this year and last, including benefit and pensions increases of over 10% this year, and we are increasing the National Living Wage again. On top of this, we will be paying many people their benefits earlier over Christmas and continuing the £10 bonus at a time when budgets are often stretched.”