In 2025, eligible long-term social welfare recipients in Ireland will receive a 100% Christmas Bonus (double payment) during the week starting December 1, 2025. This extra payment applies to recipients of long-term schemes like the State Pension, Disability Allowance, Carer’s Allowance, and long-term Jobseeker’s Allowance.
When is the Christmas Bonus paid? The Christmas Bonus will be paid the first week of December 2025 to people getting a qualifying social welfare payment (see below). The Bonus is normally paid with your social welfare payment. This means you will get the Christmas Bonus on the same day as your social welfare payment.
Double social welfare payments usually happen around holidays like Christmas and New Year's when the regular payment date falls on a weekend or holiday, causing the payment to be issued early. Additionally, specific cost-of-living bonus payments, often called a "Christmas Bonus," are issued to long-term recipients of various Irish benefits, including pensions, disability, carer's, and lone parent payments.
All officials and employees of the National Government who have rendered at least four months of service from January 1 to October 31 of each year and who are employed in the government service as of October 31 of the same year shall each receive a Christmas bonus equivalent to one month basic salary and additional ...
The Additional Needs Payment is a Supplementary Welfare Allowance payment that you may apply for if you have essential expenses that you cannot pay from your weekly income or other sources (for example maintenance or savings).
More than 1.5 million people in receipt of core weekly social welfare payments are to receive an average of €520 more this year as part of a €1 billion package. The increases agreed under Budget 2026 will take effect from Thursday and will see a €10 uplift in the maximum rate of all core weekly payments.
Pension increases for 2025 varied, with U.S. Social Security seeing a 2.5% Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) in January, while some state/local pensions (like NY State) had smaller increases (e.g., 1.2%) and different schedules, and federal COLA estimates for 2026 were announced later in 2025 (around 2.8%). Key changes included higher IRS limits for retirement plans and increased Social Security taxable maximums for 2025, with varying boosts based on inflation data for the prior year.
The bonus is equal to the eligible person's usual weekly pension or benefit payment, the minimum amount being €20. The full list of those who qualify for the bonus is available here. It includes those on carer's benefit, carer's allowance, pensioners and those on jobseeker's allowance.
They usually range from 5-10% of your year's earnings. For example, if your salary is $50,000 a year, your holiday bonus can vary from $2,500 to $5,000. You can usually determine your bonus percentage by checking your employment contract or asking a supervisor.
This extra payment isn't a performance bonus, but instead an extra month's salary that is not tied to the employee's metrics. Many businesses factor in the 13th-month pay when deciding on annual salaries. This bonus payment is normally paid at the end of the year, around Christmas and the New Year.
🎁 This is a once-off double week payment for people getting a long-term social welfare payment. ℹ️ In 2025, the Christmas Bonus is 100% of your normal weekly payment. The minimum Bonus amount that will be paid is €20 📨 Normally you get the bonus with your regular social welfare payment, so you don't need to apply.
The Christmas Bonus is a one-off tax-free £10 payment made before Christmas, paid to people who get certain benefits in the qualifying week. This is normally the first full week of December. You do not need to claim - you should get paid automatically. This guide is also available in Welsh (Cymraeg).
Many companies choose to distribute them right before Christmas or at year-end as a way to spread some cheer among their staff. However, not all workplaces follow this custom uniformly; some might opt for different incentives altogether such as gift cards or additional paid time off instead.
Who Will Receive the $1,100 Centrelink Bonus. The bonus will be automatically issued to eligible Australians receiving approved Centrelink payments. Those expected to qualify include: Age Pension recipients.
payments totalling €370 million issued from today
The Minister for Social Protection, Dara Calleary, has announced the details for the Christmas Bonus, which will be paid to approximately 1.5 million people this week including pensioners, carers and people with disabilities.
France remains the country most committed to social benefits, with almost a third of French GDP spent on social services by the government in 2019. Scandinavian countries appear high up on the ranking, with Denmark, Sweden and Norway all spending more than 25%. The OECD average was 20%.
By giving employees a flat dollar amount, in most cases ranging from $50-$5,000 with the median being $300, this type of bonus is typically received with the least amount of drawback. Since the bonus amount doesn't vary from employee to employee, it's an opportunity to appreciate your people equally.
You'll get the Christmas bonus if: you live in the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man or Gibraltar, and. you are present or 'ordinarily resident' in one of these locations during the 'qualifying week', which is normally the first full week of December, and. you get the state pension or another qualifying benefit.
One question you might have is, “What is the average Christmas bonus?” Businesses set their own metrics, and average figures can vary by industry, location, and company size. Some organizations give a flat amount—like $100 or $250—while others give a percentage of annual salary (often 1-5%).
What is the social welfare Christmas bonus? For 2025, the Christmas Bonus equalled 100% of the normal weekly payment for eligible long-term recipients. The Christmas Bonus was paid in the first week of December to people getting a qualifying social welfare payment.
A 100% Christmas Bonus will be paid in the week beginning 1 December 2025 excluding Casual Jobseeker's who will be paid in the week beginning 8 December 2025. Please note a minimum bonus amount of €20 will be paid.
1.5 million people will benefit including our pensioners, people with disabilities, carers, and lone parents. “People will receive their bonus payment on the same day that they usually receive their weekly pension or other primary payment.” There is no Christmas bonus in respect of child benefit.
Information about the Pensions increase 2025. The Annual Pensions Increase for 2025 is 1.7%, payable from 7th April 2025.
If your assets exceed the threshold, your Age Pension will gradually decrease. For example: A single homeowner with more than $321,500 in assets will start to see a decrease in their Age Pension payments. If their assets reach $714,500, their Age Pension payments will be reduced to $0.
The maximum level of earnings protected by the CPP was also increased by 14% over 2024 and 2025. Your pension will increase based on how much and for how long you contribute to the enhanced CPP.