Bereavement support payments

Urgently check if you're due £10,000s – many who weren't now are

If your partner dies before you reach state pension age, you may be due bereavement support payments. While this help was previously only available if you were married or in a civil partnership, a recent law change means co-habiting parents are newly eligible and can get backdated payments worth £10,000s. But you only have until 8 February 2024 to claim, so check NOW.

Important: Bereavement benefits are ONLY available if you were UNDER state pension age when your partner died. If you weren't, this guide isn't for you, but you may be eligible for other types of financial support – see our 10-minute benefits check guide for more.

Bereavement support changes mean many more people can now get help

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Losing a loved one is a devastating blow emotionally, and it can also be an incredibly difficult time financially. Bereavement benefits are cash payments that are designed to help reduce the financial impact of losing a partner. They are available UK wide. 

  • A recent law change means 10,000s are newly eligible for help. Until recently, bereavement payments were only available if you were were married or in a civil partnership. However, a landmark law change in February 2023 means that cohabiting parents who are bereaved are also now eligible for help. And, for a limited time, this can be claimed for bereavements dating back to 2001 – but you need to apply by 8 February 2024.

  • Having (or expecting) children dictates what help you can get – as the tables below show. In this context, having children means you must be entitled to (though not necessarily claiming payment of) Child Benefit. In other words, you must have at least one child under the age of 16, or under 20 if they are in full-time study or approved training. If you're expecting a child when your partner dies, you can also make a claim for help. 

Help for unmarried, cohabiting couples where one partner dies

  Unmarried, cohabiting couple WITH children Unmarried, cohabiting couple WITHOUT children
Partner died on or before 8 Apr 2001 You're not eligible for any support You're not eligible for any support
Partner died between 9 Apr 2001 and 5 Apr 2017 You could be eligible for backdated widowed parent's allowance – potentially worth £10,000s. Claim by 8 Feb 2024. You're not eligible for any support
Partner died between 6 Apr 2017 and 8 Feb 2023 You could be eligible for backdated bereavement support – potentially worth £9,800. Claim by 8 Feb 2024. You're not eligible for any support
Partner died on or after 9 Feb 2023 Claim bereavement support, max £9,800. You're not eligible for any support

Help for married couples where one partner dies

  Married / civil-partnered WITH children Married / civil-partnered WITHOUT children
Partner died on or before 8 Apr 2001 You're not eligible for any support You're not eligible for any support
Partner died between 9 Apr 2001 and 5 April 2017 You could be eligible for backdated widowed parent's allowance – potentially worth £10,000s. Claim by 8 Feb 2024. You're not eligible for any support
Partner died in the last 21 months Claim bereavement support, higher rate max £9,800 Claim bereavement support, lower rate max £4,300

Note: If your spouse died on or after 6 April 2017, but it wasn't in the last 21 months, then unfortunately you won't be able to make a retrospective claim for support. Married couples and those in civil partnerships have had access to bereavement support since it started in 2017, so the rationale for not allowing backdated claims now is that you had the opportunity to claim it then. 

MoneySavers have already claimed £100,000s 

Since the law change to allow unmarried partners to claim for backdated support, we've already heard from eight readers who have collectively claimed £124,000+ in vital help.

Some had no idea of the law change and were alerted by friends. It's estimated that around 21,000 families – some bereaved as long ago as 2001 – may be newly eligible for £10,000s, so reaching eligible families with news of the changes is crucial. 

Admin assistant Joanne from Bradford successfully claimed £22,000 earlier this year. She said:

"I was going through my emails and almost deleted the MSE weekly email when I spotted the reader success about bereavement support. I clicked on the link and followed the guidance in the story to make a claim. 

I was told I was eligible but I was totally shocked when £22,000 dropped into my bank account. I had to ring the Department for Work and Pensions to make sure it was correct and not a mistake. 

- MoneySaver Joanne

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Bereavement support payment – who's eligible and how to apply

'Bereavement support payment' has been the catch-all bereavement benefit for anyone who has lost their partner since 6 April 2017. It can be worth up to £9,800 and it’s NOT means-tested, so you can get it regardless of how much you earn or how much money you have in savings. 

But you do need to meet ALL of the following criteria to qualify:

  1. Relationship status – When your partner died, you must have been married, or in a registered civil partnership, or living together as though you were married.

  2. Age – When your partner died, you must have been UNDER state pension age (you can check yours here). If you were living together but unmarried and not in a civil partnership, you must also have been eligible (in other words, under state pension age) on 30 August 2018, this is the date of the Supreme Court ruling. See how does the date of the ruling affect my eligibility?

  3. Location – When your partner died, you must either have been living in the UK, or in a country that pays bereavement benefits.

  4. Work history – Your partner must have either paid national insurance contributions for at least 25 weeks in one tax year since 6 April 1975, or died because of an accident at work or a disease caused by work.

IMPORTANT: If you were co-habiting when your partner died, you also need to have been either entitled to Child Benefit for at least one child, or expecting a child who was subsequently born. Crucially, you DON'T need to have been receiving Child Benefit payments, so you can still qualify if your income was too high to claim. See below for I wasn't claiming Child Benefit, what do I do? 

To claim a backdated payment, you also need to have still been eligible for Child Benefit on or after 30 August 2018, meaning your youngest child needs to have been born: 

- After 30 August 1998 if they continued full-time education until 20 years old.
- After 30 August 2000 if they left full-time education at 18 years old.
- After 30 August 2002 if they left full-time education at 16 years old.

We've written to the Government asking it to make this requirement clearer (see our News story).

How much is bereavement support payment worth?

Bereavement support payments are usually paid as a one-off lump sum payment followed by up to 18 monthly payments. All of it is TAX-FREE.

Exactly how much you'll get depends on which of the groups you're in, and when you make your claim. But generally speaking, there are two rates of bereavement support payment:

  • Lower rate – You’ll get this if you and your spouse or civil partner didn’t have – or weren’t pregnant with – any children at the date your partner died. You'll receive an initial lump sum of £2,500, followed by up to 18 monthly payments of £100 (this could be less, or even zero, depending on how long after your partner’s death you claim, so it's best to claim as soon as you can). 

    This rate of support is unfortunately only open to those who are married or in civil partnerships.  

  • Higher rate – You’ll get this if you or your partner were either pregnant, or entitled to Child Benefit, when they died. You will receive an initial payment of £3,500, followed by up to 18 monthly payments of £350 (this could be less, or even zero, depending on how long after your partner’s death you claim, so it's best to claim as soon as you can).

    This rate of support is the only level open to those who were unmarried and living together. 

Will claiming affect my other benefits?

Any backdated lump sum payment you receive WON'T have an impact on any other benefits you're claiming for 12 months from the date you receive it. However, after this point, any leftover amount may have an impact on your income-related benefit entitlement, see our 'need to knows' below for more.

If you also receive monthly ongoing bereavement support payments, these WON'T have an impact on any other income-related benefits you receive, regardless of how long the monthly payments last.

How to apply

You can apply for bereavement support payment online, by phone or by post. You’ll need the following info:

  • Your national insurance number
  • Your bank or building society account details
  • The date your partner died
  • Your partner's national insurance number

To apply online, fill in this Gov.uk form. It’ll take around 15 minutes.

If you’d prefer to apply over the phone, call 0800 151 2012 if you’re in England, Scotland or Wales, 0800 085 2463 if you’re in Northern Ireland, or +44 (0) 191 206 9390 if you’re abroad.

OR, for postal applications, you need to either download form BSP, or ask your local Jobcentre Plus to post you the form. You then need to fill it in and send it to the address listed on the form.

Claiming can provide massive financial support at a time of intense emotional distress, as one MoneySaver wrote in to tell us:

Thanks for your news item about backdated bereavement benefits for co-habiting couples. My partner died in 2019 and I got no help, and I had a 17-year old at college.

Thanks to your news report I applied and today I received £9,800. Thank you, it’s paying my credit card bill for the funeral and it will entirely wipe off my debts."

- Anonymous 

Widowed parent's allowance – who's eligible and how to apply

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Widowed parent's allowance was replaced by bereavement support payment on 6 April 2017, but you can still make a retrospective claim if your partner died before then (and after 8 April 2001), and you meet these other four qualifying criteria:

  1. Relationship status – When they died, you and your partner need to have been married, in a registered civil partnership, or living together as though you were married. You don't qualify if you were divorced at the time of the death, or if you have since remarried, formed a new civil partnership, or begun co-habiting living with another partner.

  2. Age – When your partner died, you need to have been under state pension age. Your state pension age depends on the year you were born – check yours on Gov.uk. If you were living together but unmarried and not in a civil partnership, you must also have been eligible (ie under state pension age) on 30 August 2018, this is the date of the Supreme Court ruling.
     
  3. Work history – Your partner paid national insurance contributions, or they died because of an accident at work or a disease caused by work.

  4. Child Benefit – When your partner died, you need to have been either entitled to Child Benefit for at least one child or expecting a child who was subsequently born. Crucially, you DON'T need to have been receiving Child Benefit payments, so you can still qualify if your income was too high to claim. See how does the date of the ruling affect my eligibility?. 

    IMPORTANT: To claim a backdated payment, you also need to have still been eligible for Child Benefit on or after 30 August 2018, meaning your youngest child needs to have been born:

    - After 30 August 1998 if they continued full-time education until 20 years old.
    - After 30 August 2000 if they left full-time education at 18 years old.
    - After 30 August 2002 if they left full-time education at 16 years old.

    We've written to the Government asking it to make this requirement clearer (see our News story).

How much is backdated widowed parent's allowance worth?

How much you'll get depends on how much your partner paid in national insurance contributions. But the maximum amount of widowed parent's allowance you can get is £139.10/week (£7,233/year).

You'll get the allowance for as long as you continue to be entitled to Child Benefit after 30 August 2018, so if your child was young (or not yet born) when your partner died, your backdated claim could be worth £10,000s.

HOWEVER, unlike the bereavement support payment the widow's parent's allowance IS taxable income. If you're employed, this will be taken from your payslip automatically through the PAYE system, but if you pay tax via self-assessment, you should declare your payment on your self-assessment tax return. 

Will it affect my other benefits?

Any backdated lump sum you receive WON'T have an impact on any other benefits for 52 weeks after you get it. But after this point, anything leftover from the lump sum payment may be taken into account when calculating your income-related benefit entitlement, see our FAQs below for more.

However, unlike with bereavement support payment, any weekly ongoing widowed parent's allowance payments WILL be taken into account when working out your entitlement for other income-related benefits.

See Gov.uk for more info.

How to apply

Backdated widowed parent's allowance can only be claimed by post.

You can either download, print and complete a widowed parent's allowance form. Or you can call the bereavement service helpline on 0800 151 2012 to request a form be posted to you.

Send your completed form to: Dover Benefit Centre, Post Handling Site B, Wolverhampton, WV99 1LA.

Backdated claims could be worth £10,000s, as was the case for Janice, who emailed in to tell us:

"Just want to say thanks for bringing the change in law to my attention. My partner died suddenly in December 2016 and because we weren’t married I received nothing despite the fact we had a 12 year old son. Following you highlighting the change in law, I submitted a claim and have recently received a payment of over £30k! Many Thanks!"

MoneySaver Janice

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FAQs

  • Do I need to be on a low income to get bereavement support?

    Bereavement benefits – so widowed parent's allowance and bereavement support payments – are NOT means-tested. This means your income is not taken into consideration. 

  • What evidence do I need to prove cohabitation?

    You are responsible for proving that you lived with your late partner. Here are some examples of what evidence the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will accept as proof of address/cohabitation: 

    • Local Authority council tax statement  
    • United Kingdom (UK) full or provisional photo-card driving licence 
    • Correspondence from HM Revenue and Customs , for example most recent tax notification 
    • tax assessment  
    • Statement of account, or notice of coding   
    • Mortgage statement from a recognised lender  
    • Local Council rent card or tenancy agreement  
    • Confirmation from the electoral register that a person of that name lives at the claimed address 

    The DWP will accept photocopies of these documents.

  • What does 'being entitled' to Child Benefit mean?

    To be entitled to Child Benefit means the child must be registered, but does not have to be in receipt of payments.

    To be entitled to widowed parent's allowance, or the higher rate of bereavement support payment, the claimant must have had entitlement to Child Benefit on, or immediately after the date of death. Or they must have been pregnant on the date of death.

    For bereavement support payment, they may also qualify if they later become entitled to Child Benefit for a qualifying young person or child who was resident with them or the deceased when their partner died.  

  • My deceased partner was claiming Child Benefit for our child, can I still claim bereavement payments?

    If your late partner was claiming Child Benefit and you have not yet made a claim to transfer it to your name, you must do so for your claim for the widowed parent's allowance or higher rate of bereavement support payment to be considered.

    For more about how to do this, see the Gov.uk's Child Benefit pages.

  • I never registered for Child Benefit, what do I do?

    You can still claim either widowed parent's allowance or the higher rate bereavement support payment, but you must register your child for Child Benefit.

    If you are a higher earner with an income over £50,000, you will be subject to the "high income Child Benefit tax charge", which means you need to repay some of your Child Benefit entitlement, if your income is over £60,000 you will need to repay all of it.

    To avoid this, you can "opt out" of the payment altogether. Find out more in our Child Benefit guide.

  • My deceased partner is not on my child's birth certificate. Can I still claim?

    Yes. As long as you meet the other eligibility criteria. Generally, eligibility is related to being entitled to Child Benefit rather than being the child's biological parent.

    This means if your partner was a step-parent to your child and you meet all the other criteria, you can make a claim. 

  • What effect will payments have on my benefits after 12 months?

    Any bereavement payments (both bereavement support payments and widowed parent's allowance) you receive as a lump sum are considered capital, as opposed to income, but will be disregarded for 12 months in the calculation of income-related benefits, including Universal Credit.  

    After 12 months, any money you have left from lump sum payments will be taken into account as capital like any other savings. For savings between the lower limit of £6,000 and the upper limit of £16,000, Universal Credit assumes income from capital, and deducts £4.35 per assessment period for every £250 (or part thereof) you have. 

  • Why do I have to be eligible on or after 30 August 2018?

    Co-habiting parents who were previously unable to claim bereavement benefits, some of them bereaved as long ago as 2001, can make a new claim for retrospective bereavement payments (either bereavement support payments or widowed parent's allowance) if they were eligible on or after 30 August 2018. 

    This is the date that the Supreme Court ruled that system at the time was unlawful. This was considered a fair and logical date from which the new provisions should take effect.  

    This means that as of 30 August 2018, claimants must be both under state pension age AND still entitled to child benefit. The claim for a retrospective payment will be back paid for as long after 30 August 2018 as both those criteria continue to apply.

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