With Christmas not far away here is when you can expect benefits to hit your account…
Some payment dates will come earlier than usual because of the bank holidays over Christmas and New Year. You’ll usually be paid the working day before your payment is due.
- If your payment is due on 25, 26, or 27 December, you will be paid on 24 December.
- If your payment is due on 1 January, you will be paid on 31 December.
- Payments due on or after 2 January 2025 will be paid as usual.
As the festive season approaches, it’s good to keep these dates in mind as you might need to make your money last longer – so make sure you budget accordingly.
The following Payments are affected…..
- attendance allowance
- carer’s allowance
- child benefit
- child tax credit
- employment support allowance
- guardian’s allowance
- jobseeker’s allowance
- pension credit
- personal independence payment
- state pension
- universal credit
- working tax credit
You don’t need to do anything as you’ll automatically be paid early.
Christmas bonus
To help with the added costs of Christmas, some claimants will receive a Christmas bonus of £10. This tax-free payment is automatically paid in the first full week of December. If you get universal credit, you won’t qualify for the bonus.
To be eligible, you need to be receiving certain benefits during the qualifying week. A complete list of eligible benefits is available on the government website.
What do I do if I don’t get paid early?
If you’re due to be paid on one of the dates above and you don’t automatically receive an early payment when you expected one:
- double check your payment date
- Check with your bank
- contact the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) directly, or HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) if you’ve not been paid your tax credits
- If your payment is incorrect for any reason, you can complain to DWP or HMRC.
