Millions on Universal Credit and other benefits to get Christmas bonus
UNIVERSAL Credit claimants could get free cash to help cover costs over the festive period.
Those eligible will receive a £10 Christmas bonus.
It may be a relatively small amount, but will still help after the energy price cap hike was announced.
As the £10 is a bonus, it won't need to be repaid either, nor will it affect any other benefits you receive.
The payment is made before Christmas.
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Who is eligible for the Christmas bonus?
To get the Christmas bonus you need to get one of the following benefits along with Universal Credit.
You need to be getting it in what's known as the qualifying week, which is usually the first week of December.
- 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
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To qualify, as well as receiving one of the above benefits, you must also live in or be a resident of one of the following:
- The UK
- The Channel Islands
- The Isle of Man
- Gibraltar
- Switzerland
- Any European Economic Area (EEA) country
How do I claim the Christmas bonus?
The £10 Christmas bonus is paid automatically so you don't need to claim.
You'll get it paid into the same account where you normally receive your benefit payments and it should show up in your statement as "DWP XB" or something similar.
If you think you qualify but you don’t receive a payment automatically, you should contact your local Jobcentre Plus or Pension Centre.
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We previously revealed five mistakes that could see your Universal Credit docked or cancelled.
There are six locations where people on legacy benefits are being moved onto Universal Credit as well.