{"id":10316,"date":"2024-12-06T06:45:37","date_gmt":"2024-12-06T06:45:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/?p=10316"},"modified":"2024-12-06T06:45:37","modified_gmt":"2024-12-06T06:45:37","slug":"pip-dla-claimants-two-major-payments-december","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/pip-dla-claimants-two-major-payments-december\/","title":{"rendered":"PIP and DLA Claimants: Two Major Payments Scheduled for December Ahead of 2025 Reform"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Claimants of <strong>PIP<\/strong> (Personal Independence Payment), <strong>DLA<\/strong> (Disability Living Allowance), and other benefits will experience <strong>two key payment changes<\/strong> this December, ahead of the expected reforms in <strong>Spring 2025<\/strong>. These adjustments come amid growing uncertainty surrounding a potential crackdown on <strong>disability benefits<\/strong>, as well as incapacity payments available alongside <strong>Universal Credit<\/strong> for those with &#8216;limited capability for work.&#8217;<\/p>\n<h2>The \u00a310 Christmas Bonus: A Small Gesture, but Long Overdue<\/h2>\n<p>As part of the annual tradition, claimants will receive the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/xmas-bonus-winter-fuel-payment-dwp-december\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>\u00a310 Christmas bonus<\/strong><\/a> this week. The bonus may appear separately in accounts with the code <strong>DWP XB<\/strong>, or it may simply be added to the next benefit payment, with some claimants already receiving it alongside their <strong>Carer&#8217;s Allowance<\/strong> this Monday.<\/p>\n<p>Introduced in <strong>1972<\/strong>, the bonus has been a longstanding feature, yet many believe it is no longer fit for purpose. Had it kept pace with inflation, it would now be worth more than <strong>\u00a3115<\/strong>. Although the bonus provides a small amount of relief, it raises questions about its adequacy in today\u2019s economic climate.<\/p>\n<h2>Changes to Payment Dates Due to Festive Bank Holidays<\/h2>\n<p>Because of the Christmas and New Year bank holidays, several payments will be brought forward to ensure that beneficiaries receive their funds on time:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Payments that were due on <strong>25th December<\/strong> and <strong>26th December<\/strong> will be made on <strong>24th December<\/strong>, in line with the closure of banking services over Christmas.<\/li>\n<li>Payments due on <strong>1st January<\/strong> will be made on <strong>31st December<\/strong> instead.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This advance scheduling ensures that recipients are not left waiting during the festive period.<\/p>\n<h2>A Major Overhaul on the Horizon for 2025<\/h2>\n<p>While the immediate changes to payments are relatively straightforward, a much larger overhaul of disability benefits is expected in <strong>2025<\/strong>. The opposition <strong>Labour Party<\/strong> has outlined plans to reform the system significantly, with a focus on encouraging recipients to return to work.<\/p>\n<p>Under the proposed reforms, the current work capability assessment\u2014which determines whether someone is exempt from work due to a health condition or disability and eligible for an additional <strong>\u00a3416<\/strong> per month on top of their <a href=\"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/dwp-reveals-new-esa-payment-rates-for-2025-2026\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Universal Credit<\/strong><\/a>\u2014could be scrapped altogether, as was previously suggested by the Conservatives.<\/p>\n<p>Here are the complete details of all the <strong>updated payment schedules<\/strong> for December and January:<\/p>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th><strong>Original Payment Date<\/strong><\/th>\n<th><strong>New Payment Date<\/strong><\/th>\n<th><strong>Description<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>25th December<\/td>\n<td>24th December<\/td>\n<td>Payment brought forward due to Christmas Day<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>26th December<\/td>\n<td>24th December<\/td>\n<td>Payment brought forward due to Boxing Day<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>1st January<\/td>\n<td>31st December<\/td>\n<td>Payment brought forward due to New Year\u2019s Day<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>Labour\u2019s new <strong>Get Britain Working<\/strong> white paper outlines its vision for the future, confirming that a large-scale shake-up is on the way: &#8220;We are committed to reforming the system of health and disability benefits so that it promotes and enables employment among as many people as possible. The system must also work to reduce poverty for disabled people and those with health conditions and support disabled people to live independently. It is also vital to ensure that the system is financially sustainable in the long term.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>This document also indicates that <strong>public consultation<\/strong> will be a key part of the reform process: &#8220;So, alongside our Get Britain Working white paper, we want to engage with disabled people, and others with expertise and experience on these issues, to consider how to address these challenges and build a better system. We will be working to develop proposals for long-term reform in the months ahead and will set them out for further consultation and engagement in a Green Paper in spring 2025.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>These forthcoming reforms will no doubt bring significant changes to the way <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/browse\/benefits\/disability\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">disability benefits<\/a> operate, and many beneficiaries are already expressing concern about potential cuts or job requirements that may come with the proposed changes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This December,<strong> PIP<\/strong> and <strong>DLA<\/strong> claimants will see <strong>two notable changes<\/strong> to their <strong>payments<\/strong>, including an unanticipated shift in dates. With significant reforms scheduled for 2025, these adjustments represent the initial phase of a larger transformation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":10321,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[46,45],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-welfare","category-retirement","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10316","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10316"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10316\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10321"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}