Households up and down the UK are being told about eight key December money changes with cash being given to millions of eligible households through the month.
There are several payments being given out from the start of December and throughout the month.
The DWP’s £10 Christmas bonus is being sent to households on certain benefits from December 1 onwards.
Showing up as DWP XB on bank statements, the money is given to those on Pension Credit, as well as several other types of benefit such as PIP, Attendance Allowance, Carer’s Allowance, Adult or Child Disability Payment, and Disability Living Allowance.
The benefit hasn’t been increased since the 1970s, though, with many calling for it to be uprated.
Also throughout December, the Cold Weather Payment is being sent out to any household in an area where the temperature hits 0C or lower for seven days in a row. Those who are eligible must also be claiming Pension Credit, Universal Credit, Income Support or Employment and Support Allowance.
The payment is £25 for every seven days, so in theory you could be paid £100 if the payment was triggered for a maximum of four times in December.
Also coming through in December, the Warm Homes Discount will give £150 in the form of an energy bills discount.
Those who are on Pension Credit, and those who are generally on a low income, can apply for the cash – you need to call the Warm Homes Discount Scheme on 0800 030 9322 if you think you could get the cash but aren’t currently in receipt of it. The money is also offered to those on Universal Credit and Housing Benefit, not just Pension Credit.
When will bank switch offers end?
There are also two key bank changes in December, one from December 1 and the other from December 10.
From December 1, Nationwide increased its fees by £5 a month to use its popular Flex Plus account.
The account is packed with features including worldwide travel insurance, mobile phone insurance and European breakdown cover. If you need cover on all of these things, it could work out cheaper to keep the account and pay the fee.
But otherwise, you’ll be paying £216 a year to use the account, which is a £60 increase.
On December 10, Lloyds will end its £200 cash giveaway. The bank, under the name Club Lloyds, is giving £200 payments to anyone who switches their bank account from another provider (other than Halifax or Bank of Scotland, which are in the same banking group).
As it stands, switchers have just seven days left to make the change and get the £200 paid to them once the fulfil the eligibility criteria.
When will the Bank of England announce new rates?
On December 19, the Bank of England will announce its next base rate decision, following the release of the latest inflation figures on December 18.
The base rate is what affects mortgage and savings rates for the coming months. Although some of the product offers already ‘price in’ what they expect to happen with the Bank of England base rate, any increase or decrease is likely to have knock-on effects down the line. Put simply, rates going up is a good thing for savings, but a bad thing for mortgage holders, and when rates go down, the inverse is true.
Experts think that cuts to the rate are unlikely, given inflation is expected to increase or stay level due to energy bill price hikes.
Finally, on December 21, the deadline for Pension Credit and Winter Fuel Payment will pass.
Technically, you need to have qualified for Pension Credit by September 21, but because you can backdate a Pension Credit claim by up to three months, you can still get a Winter Fuel Payment this year if you get your backdated claim in by December 21.
