The Christmas Bonus for those in receipt of social welfare payments was confirmed in Budget 2022 and will be paid out between December 6 and December 10 2021.
The Government has put aside up to €315 million has been given for Christmas bonuses for all welfare recipients.
However, not everyone will be entitled to the payment as some rules apply to be eligible.
The bonus is a payment of 100% of your regular weekly pension or benefit payment, with a minimum payment of €20.
However, two key rules could see some of those who believe they are eligible miss out on the bonus:
Jobseekers Christmas Bonus
If you are getting a Jobseeker's payment, you will only be entitled to the Christmas bonus if your claim has been in payment for 104 days or more or you have been in receipt of a combination of qualifying payments for 104 days.
Casual Jobseeker claimants
For casual job seekers, the total payment days must exceed 103 to qualify for the bonus.
For example – someone working three days and claiming jobseekers for two days a week would need 104 days of previous payments (about 52 weeks) to get the bonus.
If you get a bonus, it should be paid a week after everyone else.
The full list of pensions and benefits that are eligible for the Christmas Bonus is as follows:
- Back to Education Allowance in some cases
- Back to Work Enterprise Allowance
- Back to Work Family Dividend
- Blind Pension
- Carer's Allowance
- Carer's Benefit
- Community Employment Schemes
- COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment in some cases
- Daily Expenses Allowance
- Deserted Wife's Benefit and Allowance
- Disability Allowance
- Disablement Benefit
- Domiciliary Care Allowance (paid on 15 December)
- Farm Assist
- Guardian's payments (Contributory and Non- Contributory)
- Invalidity Pension
- Job Initiative
- Jobseeker's Allowance ( long term)
- Jobseeker's Allowance in some cases
- Jobseeker's Benefit in some cases
- Jobseeker's Transition Payment
- Magdalene Commission Scheme
- One-Parent Family Payment
- Partial Capacity Benefit
- Part-time Job Incentive
- Rural Social Scheme
- State Pensions (Contributory and Non- Contributory)
- Supplementary Welfare Allowance
- TÚS
- Widow's/Widower's/Surviving Civil Partner's Pensions (Contributory and Non- Contributory)
People have been warned not to confuse the Christmas Bonus with the usual "double week" of weekly welfare and pension payments that are also paid out just before Christmas.
The double payment week happens because of bank and post office closures over the Christmas period.
The double payment is then followed by a week with no payments.
The 2021 double week is expected to be the week beginning December 20th, and monthly payments are not affected.
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