A prominent financial commentator has publicly called on the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to abolish a long-standing festive payment for state pensioners, labelling it an expensive anachronism the country can no longer afford.
The 'Scrooge' Argument Against a 50-Year-Old Perk
In a stark intervention, The Telegraph columnist James Baxter-Derrington has urged ministers to scrap the Christmas Bonus for pensioners. "Call me Scrooge, but it’s time to scrap pensioners’ Christmas bonus," he wrote. He argues that with the state pension now more generous historically and pensioners receiving other inflation-linked payments, the bonus is unjustified.
Baxter-Derrington contends that even if a moral case could be made for giving over a quarter of the population a taxpayer-funded gift, the current economic climate renders it unaffordable. He concluded that a "braver government would stop this expensive charade."
A Brief History of the £10 Payment
The Christmas Bonus was first introduced as a £20 payment by a Conservative government in 1972. Its history has not been uninterrupted, however. The payment was suspended for two years under Labour in 1975 and 1976, before being reinstated in 1977.
Since that reintroduction nearly five decades ago, the rate has remained frozen. It is paid at a flat rate of £10 to individuals who receive one or more qualifying benefits, such as the state pension, during the first full week of December.
Contrasting Views: Stingy Uncle vs. Pensioner Advocacy
The future of the bonus is a point of significant contention. While some see it as outdated, pensioner advocacy groups argue it should be increased, not removed. The National Pensioners’ Convention (NPC) has proposed in its manifesto that the bonus should be raised to the value of one week’s full basic state pension.
The payment has also been used as a symbol of wider policy approaches. The Economist recently described the UK’s £10 bonus as the act of a "stingy uncle, who knows he has to get a present but puts no effort into it", contrasting this with other European nations' more substantial offerings. This, the publication suggested, reflects a broader tendency in British social policy.
The debate pits fiscal responsibility against symbolic support for older citizens, leaving the DWP with a politically sensitive decision on whether to maintain, reform, or end a tradition that has lasted since the early 1970s.
