Bereavement Support Payment

Bereavement Support Payment is a benefit for someone whose husband, wife or civil partner has died, or whose partner they lived with as if married. The higher rate, for those getting Child Benefit or who were pregnant, is £3,500 and then 18 monthly payments of £350; the lower rate is £2,500 and 18 payments of £100. Claim within 3 months of the death to get the full amount.

Who can claim

When your partner died, you must have been living in the UK or in a country that pays bereavement benefits. It is paid across the UK, Northern Ireland included, by the Department for Work and Pensions. It replaced three older benefits: Bereavement Allowance, Bereavement Payment and Widowed Parent’s Allowance.

Higher rate or lower rate

You get the higher rate if one of these applied on the day your partner died: you were getting Child Benefit for a child who lived with you, the Child Benefit Office had told you that you were entitled to it for a child who lived with you (even if you chose not to take it), or you were pregnant. If none of them applied, you get the lower rate.

If you lived together without marrying, one of those three must have applied when your partner died, unless you are applying for a backdated payment.

How and when to claim

Claim through the DWP Bereavement Service helpline or online. If you are also arranging the funeral and receive a qualifying benefit, the same call can take a claim for the Funeral Expenses Payment.

The 3 months matter. Claim within them and you receive the one-off payment and all 18 monthly payments. A claim can usually still be made up to 21 months after the death, but claiming after the first 3 months reduces the payments you receive.