DWP explains six payments landing in bank accounts worth up to £20,000 for Christmas

The Department for Work and Pensions could issue payments worth up to £20,000 for claimants on benefits before Christmas. Unexpected DWP payments worth up to £20,000 that could land in your bank account before Christmas have emerged.

The payments range from underpaid benefits, to the £10 Christmas Bonus, as well as correction exercises - known as LEAP - for state pensioners and PIP claimants. As well as these four, payments could be due a windfall in the form of their circumstances changing.

When your circumstances change, your benefits payments often change too. This could mean more or less money depending on what’s happened. You need to report changes to your circumstances so you keep getting the right amount each month.

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You need to report changes as soon as they happen. Any delay may mean you receive too much money and will have to make a repayment. Changes in your circumstances can affect how much you’re paid for your whole assessment period - not just from the date you report them.

Changes can include finding or finishing a job, having a child, moving in with your partner, starting to care for a child or disabled person and your child stopping or restarting education or training, if they’re aged 16 to 19 as well as changing your mobile number or email address.

Other changes could be moving to a new address, going outside Great Britain for any length of time, if you live there, going outside Northern Ireland for any length of time, if you live there, changing your bank details and your rent going up or down.

Other changes include changes to your health condition, becoming too ill to work or meet your work coach, changes to your earnings (only if you’re self-employed), changes to your savings, investments and how much money you have and changes to your immigration status, if you’re not a British citizen.

The sixth and final payment is payments being paid early for Christmas - due to bank holidays.