State pensioners will be handed a surprise £230 payment on Tuesday this week. That’s because the DWP is changing payment dates this week due to the small matter of Christmas Day. Both Christmas Day and Boxing Day are official bank holidays. That doesn’t just meant that most people get the day off (though that’s nice), but as the name implies, it also literally means that the banks don’t open or trade.

That in turn means that regular payments which are usually made on December 25 or December 26 will instead be made either before or after.

For payments like mortgages or energy bills, it usually means the payment goes out later instead.

But for benefits such as the state pension, it means your payment will drop into your account unexpectedly earlier than normal.

If you would normally be due to receive your state pension payment this Thursday or Friday, then this time you will be paid on Tuesday, December 23 or Wednesday, December 24 (Christmas Eve) instead, the DWP has confirmed.

If you’re due to be paid on Wednesday, December 24, you’ll instead be paid on Tuesday, December 23. If you’re due to be paid on Thursday, December 25, you’ll instead be paid on Tuesday December 23. If you’re due to be paid on Friday, December 26, you’ll instead be paid on Tuesday December 23.

Currently, a post-2016 state pensioner with a full National Insurance record is eligible to get £230.25 per week. The pension is paid every four weeks (not monthly), which means that the payment will be worth £921 for a new state pensioner on a full NI record.

Older state pensioners with a full National Insurance record would get up to £705.80 instead, not including any Pension Credit boost for those eligible to top up their income that way.

But the downside of the early payments is that state pensioners will have to wait a few days longer for their next payments in January, as the DWP does not move the following pension payment forward to account for the early Christmas payments.

The DWP says: “Benefits are usually paid straight into your bank, building society or credit union account. If your payment date is on a weekend or a bank holiday you’ll usually be paid on the working day before.

“Some payments will be made earlier if they’re due between 24 December 2025 and 2 January 2026. Tell the office that pays your benefit if you do not get your payment on the day it’s scheduled.”