DWP £10 Christmas Bonus 2026 Universal Credit exclusion, Digi Mart USA News: The Department for Work and Pensions has confirmed that one benefit is excluded from the £10 Christmas Bonus in 2026. To qualify for the payment in December, the DWP says you need to claim any one of 24 listed benefits, but one of them is exempt.
The DWP has confirmed to Birmingham Live that you will not receive the Christmas Bonus payment if you only receive Universal Credit. However, you could still receive the £10 payment if you claim Universal Credit alongside another qualifying benefit, such as Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Carer’s Allowance or the State Pension, the DWP has stipulated.
If you are part of a married couple, in a civil partnership or living together as if you are, and you both receive one of the qualifying benefits, you will each receive a Christmas Bonus payment. If your partner or civil partner does not receive one of the qualifying benefits, they may still get the bonus if you are both over State Pension age by the end of the qualifying week and your partner or civil partner was also present, or ordinarily resident, in the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man, Gibraltar, a European Economic Area (EEA) country or Switzerland during that week.
One of the following must also apply: you are entitled to an increase of a qualifying benefit for your partner or civil partner, or the only qualifying benefit you are receiving is Pension Credit. Explaining how the bonus works, Money Saving Expert, the site founded by BBC and ITV star Martin Lewis, said: “Most won’t need to do anything to claim the bonus.”
If you are eligible for the £10, you should not need to do anything to claim it. You should receive it automatically into the account where you receive your usual benefits.
It may show up on your statement under ‘DWP XB’.
The DWP advises that if you believe you should receive the bonus and have not, you should contact your Jobcentre Plus office. You can find your nearest Jobcentre Plus branch via GOV.UK or phone 0800 055 6688.
