Bereavement Support Payment

If your husband, wife or civil partner has died you may be able to claim Bereavement Support Payment to help ease some of the financial worries you may be facing.

What is Bereavement Support Payment?

Bereavement Support Payment is a welfare benefit that you may be able to claim if your husband, wife or civil partner has died. These benefits are not means-tested, so they are available to anyone regardles of their income level and can be paid whether or not you are working.

The system of claiming bereavement benefits has changed. Under the old system you were able to claim either Bereavement Allowance (previously Widow's Pension), Widowed Parent’s Allowance or Bereavement Payment. These have now been grouped together to form the Bereavement Support Payment.

How much could I get?

Bereavement Support Payment consists of an initial lump sum payment of £2,500 (or, if you have children, £3,500) and a further 18 monthly instalments of £100 (or, if you're eligible for Child Benefit, £350).

These payments are not taxable and are disregarded in the benefit cap and when calculating entitlement to means-tested benefits.

Am I eligible to claim?

You can claim Bereavement Support Payment you were under State Pension age when your partner died.

You will need to claim within 3 months of your partner’s death to get the full amount. However, you can still claim up to 21 months after their death, though this will result in you receiving fewer monthly payments.

How do I claim?

Information on how to apply can be found on the GOV.UK website.

For help on how to claim, phone the Bereavement Service helpline on 0800 151 2012 (English) or 0800 731 0453 (Welsh).

Further help