More than 4,100 people have signed an online petition calling on the UK Government to adjust the annual £10 Christmas Bonus payment in line with inflation. The tax-free £10 bonus has been distributed to millions of State Pension or qualifying benefit recipients since its inception by Ted Heath’s Conservative Government in 1972.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) issues this payment to those receiving the State Pension or benefits such as Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Adult Disability Payment (ADP), Attendance Allowance and Carer’s Allowance – provided they meet the eligibility criteria during the qualifying period in December.

However, David Angus Kirkwood, the creator of the petition, argues that the bonus has not been increased since it was first introduced over five decades ago. According to calculations based on the composite price index published by the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS), the value of the bonus would be approximately £169 in today’s money.

The ‘Adjust the £10 DWP Christmas Bonus introduced in 1972 to reflect inflation’ petition is available on the Petitions Parliament website. If it garners 10,000 signatures, it will warrant a written response from the UK Government.

The petition proposes that the annual one-off payment should only be given to “British citizens, who have been claiming benefits for a minimum of six months”, reports the Daily Record.

The petition says: “In the early 1970s, £10 was a valuable uplift for those without income, to help with the increased costs associated with Christmas time. It would have helped towards paying for heating and electricity, food and drinks or Christmas presents for kids.

“It would have been the equivalent of approximately £180 today adjusted for inflation. £10 today won’t even buy a round of drinks, wouldn’t pay for a quality Christmas pudding or buy a box of decent Christmas crackers. £10 quite frankly is insulting.”

It’s important to note that approximately 24 million people throughout Great Britain receive at least one benefit – with the State Pension classified as a contributory benefit – and of those roughly 15 million are entitled to the £10 payment. This represents a UK Government expenditure of £150 million on the DWP Christmas Bonus.

DWP £10 Christmas Bonus

A total of 24 benefits qualify for this year’s £10 payment, although 8.3 million Universal Credit claimants are not eligible.

The DWP began distributing the 2025 payment last week and will carry on until 31 December. It’s crucial to understand this arrives as a separate payment, distinct from your regular State Pension or benefit payment, meaning it may land on a different date.

No application is required for the additional £10 as it should be automatically transferred into the account where you normally receive your benefit payment or State Pension. It will appear as ‘DWP XB’ on bank statements and online accounts.

So, who qualifies for the £10 Christmas Bonus?

To be eligible for the Christmas Bonus, you must be present or ‘ordinally resident’ in the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man, or Gibraltar, during the qualifying week of December 1 – 7.

The DWP will notify eligible claimants that they will receive the £10 bonus in December. However, this notification typically arrives after the payment due to the increased demand on postal services during the festive season.

Qualifying benefits

You must also get at least one of the following benefits in the qualifying week:

• Adult Disability Payment (Scotland only)
• Armed Forces Independence Payment
• Attendance Allowance
• Carer’s Allowance
• Carer Support Payment (Scotland only)
• Child Disability Payment (Scotland only)
• 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 (Scotland only)
• Pension Credit – the guarantee element
• Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
• Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance (SADLA)
• 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

Not everyone over State Pension age will get the payment, DWP guidance on GOV.UK explains: “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.”

Married or cohabiting couples and civil partnerships

The DWP guidance explains that if you’re part of a married couple, in a civil partnership or living together as if you are and you both get one of the qualifying benefits you will each get a £10 Christmas Bonus payment.

If your partner or civil partner does not get one of the qualifying benefits, they may still get the Christmas Bonus if both the following apply:

• 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

One of the following must also apply:

• You are entitled to an increase of a qualifying benefit for your partner or civil partner
• the only qualifying benefit you are getting is Pension Credit

How to claim

You do not need to claim the Christmas Bonus – you should get it automatically before January 1, 2026. Find out more about the Christmas Bonus on GOV.UK here.