The Christmas bonus is nothing new introduced by the government this year. It’s actually almosta french tradition. It has been paid annually for 24 years (since 1998). This bonus is granted to certain recipients of social minima before Christmas and New Year.
The bonus is commonly referred to as the “Christmas Bonus”. However, his real name is longer. Rather, it is the “extraordinary year-end bonus”. It is paid by the Family Allowance Funds (CAF), the Central Agricultural Social Fund (Ccmsa) and Pôle emploi. Everything depends on… Status of Beneficiaries.
Christmas bonus 2022: who benefits?
The bounty of Christmas however, is not attributed to everyone. It is only granted to certain people recipients of social minima. More specifically, it concerns the beneficiaries of the Solidarity income from work (RSA), thespecial solidarity surcharge (ass) andpension-equivalent allowance (Air). “It is automatically allocated (…) there is no procedure for obtaining it”, specifies Mariette Daval, Director of the Integration and Living Environment Department at the National Family Allowances Fund (Cnaf).
Therefore, there is no need to make an application to benefit from this bonus. The simple fact that RSA, Ass or Aer rights are open in November or December automatically opens the right to Premium payment. There is a small special feature for those who will draw these minimum amounts for the first time in 2022. For them, the Christmas bonus will not be paid out until January 2023.
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How much is the Christmas bonus for 2022?
The basic amount of the Christmas bonus is EUR 152.45 (it has not changed compared to the previous year). It then varies according to the social minima to which the beneficiaries are entitled. The amount is fixed if they are only beneficiaries of Ace or Aer. The bonus is then €152.45.
In contrast, RSA Beneficiaries see the size of the premium vary depending on the composition of their family. For them, the amount of 152.45 euros corresponds to a household of a single person. The premium for two people without children is EUR 228.67. Then you have to add EUR 60.98 per additional person within the family. For example, a Christmas bonus of up to EUR 518.33 is possible for a family of seven.
Could the Christmas bonus be an inactivity trap?
The Christmas bonus is of course very interesting for less privileged households. But like all social assistance benefits, it too has been criticized for being too advantageous. In doing so, it would help encourage the emergence of “inactivity traps”. In other words, it would encourage favored households not to work. On the other hand, it also contributes to reducing poverty. In 2021, more than 2 million French have benefited.