Pensioners ‘miss out’ on £100 this year because of Christmas bonus policy | Personal Finance | Finance
With soaring prices for food and energy bills, the £10 payment will now barely cover the costs of a Christmas dinner.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced in the Autumn Statement that many benefits and the state pension would increase by 10.1 percent, the September figure for inflation.
But there were no plans to announce an increase in the Christmas Bonus, which could provide vital support to hard-up Britons for the extra costs of the festive season.
A DWP spokesperson said: “We know that Christmas is a time that can stretch budgets which is why we offer those on certain benefits a £10 bonus and pay many people their benefits earlier than usual, helping them over the festive period.”
To be eligible for the bonus, recipients must be living or “ordinarily resident” in the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man and Gibraltar.
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