Christmas can be a costly time for many households and stressful for those on a very tight budget.
Pressure to splash out on gifts and food over the festive season can leave many counting the cost by the New Year.
This comes on top of the loss of winter fuel payment for some pensioners, and the increase in the energy price cap last month at a time when heating your home is essential.
For those reliant on benefits or the state pension, knowing when the next payment will arrive can be crucial to keeping afloat during a financially stretched period.
We take a look at when these will arrive in accounts in January and the changes the Department for Work and Pensions has made to payment dates to account for the New Year’s Day bank holiday.
Financial pressures over Christmas and the winter period make it crucial to know when your next benefit and pension payments are due (Photo: coldsnowstorm/Getty)Benefits are usually paid straight into the bank, building society or credit union account of the claimant.
If a payment date falls on a weekend or a bank holiday, then the claimant is usually paid on the working day before.
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New Year’s Day is a bank holiday in the whole of the UK and 2 January is a public holiday in Scotland and so these will affect some payment dates.
Any benefit payments due on New Year’s Day (Wednesday 1 January), including universal credit, will be paid on Tuesday 31 December.
In Scotland, benefit payments due on Thursday 2 January will be paid on Tuesday 31 December.
This is the DWP’s benefit payments schedule:
Attendance allowance – usually every four weeks Carer’s allowance – weekly in advance or every four weeks Child benefit – usually every four weeks, weekly for single parents and some benefits claimants Disability living allowance – usually every four weeks Employment and support allowance – usually every two weeks Income support – usually every two weeks Jobseeker’s allowance – usually every two weeks Maternity allowance – every two or four weeks Pension credit – usually every four weeks Personal independence payment (PIP) – usually every four weeks Tax credits – every four weeks or weekly Universal credit – every monthIf a benefit payment is not made by the expected day, the DWP advises claimants to check the date on their award notice and bank account.
If the date is correct but the money has failed to arrive in a claimant’s account, they should then contact the appropriate helpline on the Government website.
When will pensions be paid in January?
The basic state pension is also paid directly into a claimant’s chosen bank, building society or credit union account.
This is done on a four-week cycle, with the day on which a claimant’s state pension is paid dependent on the last two digits of their national insurance (NI) number.
This is how NI numbers correspond to days of payment:
00 to 19: Monday 20 to 39: Tuesday 40 to 59: Wednesday 60 to 79: Thursday 80 to 99: FridayIn the same way benefit payment dates are affected by bank holidays, so is the state pension.
If the payment due date falls on New Year’s Day (Wednesday 1 January) or Thursday 2 January in Scotland, then it will be paid on Tuesday 31 December.
If there is a problem with pension payments, a helpline is available here on the DWP website.
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Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( January 2025 DWP payment dates for benefits and pensions, in full )
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