- If your payment date is on a weekend or a bank holiday, you will usually be paid on the working day before.1 That applies to Universal Credit, PIP, State Pension and other DWP benefits.
- The Christmas bank holidays are Friday 25 December 2026, Monday 28 December 2026 (the Boxing Day substitute, as 26 December is a Saturday) and Friday 1 January 2027. Scotland also has Monday 4 January 2027.2 So a payment due on Friday 25, Saturday 26, Sunday 27 or Monday 28 December is usually paid on Thursday 24 December, and one due on Friday 1, Saturday 2 or Sunday 3 January on Thursday 31 December.
When will my benefit be paid over Christmas 2026?
Find your usual payment date. Dates not listed (working days that are not bank holidays) are paid as normal.12
| Due Saturday 19 December 2026 | Paid Friday 18 December 2026 (1 day early) |
| Due Sunday 20 December 2026 | Paid Friday 18 December 2026 (2 days early) |
| Due Friday 25 December 2026 | Paid Thursday 24 December 2026 (1 day early) |
| Due Saturday 26 December 2026 | Paid Thursday 24 December 2026 (2 days early) |
| Due Sunday 27 December 2026 | Paid Thursday 24 December 2026 (3 days early) |
| Due Monday 28 December 2026 | Paid Thursday 24 December 2026 (4 days early) |
| Due Friday 1 January 2027 | Paid Thursday 31 December 2026 (1 day early) |
| Due Saturday 2 January 2027 | Paid Thursday 31 December 2026 (2 days early) |
| Due Sunday 3 January 2027 | Paid Thursday 31 December 2026 (3 days early) |
This applies the GOV.UK rule to the GOV.UK bank holiday dates. DWP has not yet published its own 2026 Christmas table. We will add it here as soon as it does, and your bank statement or online account is the final word on your own payment.
Why January can feel like a long wait
An early December payment does not mean an extra payment. Your January payment still arrives on its usual date (or earlier, if that date is a weekend or bank holiday), so the gap between the two is longer than a month. Budget for it when the December money arrives.
| Paid on the 25th each month | December paid Thu 24 Dec, January paid Mon 25 Jan: 32 days apart |
| Paid on the 26th each month | December paid Thu 24 Dec, January paid Tue 26 Jan: 33 days apart |
| Paid on the 27th each month | December paid Thu 24 Dec, January paid Wed 27 Jan: 34 days apart |
| Paid on the 28th each month | December paid Thu 24 Dec, January paid Thu 28 Jan: 35 days apart |
| Paid on the 31st each month | December paid Thu 31 Dec, January paid Fri 29 Jan: 29 days apart |
For someone paid on the 28th, the December payment comes on Thursday 24 December 2026 and January's on Thursday 28 January 2027: 35 days to cover with one month's money.
Child Benefit and State Pension over Christmas
Child Benefit is usually paid every 4 weeks on a Monday or Tuesday, and HMRC says there are different payment dates if it is due on a bank holiday. If a payment was due on a bank holiday, do not count 4 weeks forward from it to find the next one; check HMRC's Child Benefit payment dates page instead.3
The new State Pension is usually paid every 4 weeks, on a weekday set by the last two digits of your National Insurance number (00 to 19 Monday, 20 to 39 Tuesday, 40 to 59 Wednesday, 60 to 79 Thursday, 80 to 99 Friday). You might be paid earlier if your normal payment day is a bank holiday.4 Monday and Friday payers are the ones affected this Christmas.
If your payment does not arrive
Check the date against the table above and your online account or award letter first. If it still has not arrived, contact the office that pays the benefit, using your Universal Credit journal or the contact details on your award letter.