Bereavement Support Payment
Bereavement Support Payment gives financial help to deal with the more immediate costs caused by the death of a spouse or civil partner. It is paid where the date of death was on or after 6 April 2017.
Eligibility
You will qualify for Bereavement Support Payment if:
- your spouse or civil partner died on or after 6 April 2017
- you were under State Pension age when your spouse or civil partner died
- you were resident in the UK at the time of the death or live in a country where the UK has a relevant European Union or reciprocal agreement
- your spouse or civil partner had paid a minimum of 25 Class 1 or Class 2 National Insurance contributions in any single tax year during their working life - exceptions to this may apply: if your spouse or civil partner died as a result of an industrial accident or prescribed disease or was unable to work their entire working life due to a disability
You or your partner don't need to be getting benefits to apply.
Payments
There are two rates of Bereavement Support Payment – ‘standard rate’ and ‘higher rate’. Payments may include an increased initial payment, followed by up to 18 smaller monthly payments.
Higher rate
If you are entitled to Child Benefit for at least one dependent child or were pregnant at the date of your spouse or civil partner’s death, you may be entitled to an initial payment of £3,500 and up to 18 monthly payments of £350.
Standard rate
If you were not pregnant or have no dependent children, you may be entitled to an initial payment of £2,500 and up to 18 monthly payments of £100.
Claiming the full entitlement
You are only entitled to the increased initial payment if your claim is made within 12 months of the death. To be eligible for up to 18 monthly payments, your claim must be made within three months of the death.
You can claim up to 21 months after the death but your payments will be less.
Bereavement Support Payment eligibility and payments cease when you reach State Pension age regardless of whether or not you choose to defer your State Pension.
Bereavement Support Payment will be paid directly into an account of your choice on a monthly basis.
All payments are tax free. Re-marrying or re-partnering will not affect your payments.
SMS messages
When claiming Bereavement Support Payment you may receive text messages (SMS) from the Department for Communities (DfC). They will always be clearly marked as DfC and will never ask you to give, or click a link to give, personal information or financial details by message or email.
If you’re concerned or unsure about any text messages (SMS) you receive from about Bereavement Support Payment you should contact Bereavement Support Payment directly. If you suspect you have received a fraudulent message as a scam, contact Bereavement Support Payment immediately.
- Further information is available at: scamwiseni
Effect on other benefits
Bereavement Support Payments will not affect other benefits you receive, however, in some circumstances they may be treated as savings when applying for other benefits.
How to claim
To claim, phone the Bereavement Service or download an application form.
If you use sign language, you might be able to use the video relay service to claim Bereavement Support Payments using British Sign Language (BSL) or Irish Sign Language (ISL). To access the service, go to: