Claiming bereavement support payment and other benefits

If you and your spouse or civil partner qualified to claim Marriage Allowance at any time from April 2015, but didn’t claim before they died, you can now claim up to four years’ worth of backdated missed payments.

Bereavement Support Payment replaces Bereavement Allowance, Widowed Parent’s Allowance and Bereavement Payment.

The benefit is paid to you at one of two rates, depending on whether you’re responsible for children.

You must be below State Pension age to claim Bereavement Support Payment.

Your spouse or civil partner must have made National Insurance contributions for at least 25 weeks during their working life for you to qualify. If your husband, wife or civil partner died because of an industrial injury, their National Insurance contributions might not matter.

Bereavement Support Payment is only paid for 18 months after the date your spouse or civil partner died. So it’s important you claim as soon as possible to avoid losing money.

Bereavement Support Payment is paid at either a higher rate or standard rate:

Paid to pregnant women or if you’re entitled to Child Benefit. In 2022/23 you’ll get:

• a monthly payment of £350 for 18 months following the death
• a one-off payment of £3,500 during the first month.
  

For everyone else. In 2022/23 you’ll get:

• a monthly payment of £100 for 18 months
• a one-off payment of £2,500 during the first month.

You might also qualify to claim other low income benefits to top up your income, such as tax credits, Housing Benefit, Council Tax Reduction or Universal Credit.

You can claim from the date the person died.

Claims can be only backdated up to three months.

So, make sure you make your claim within three months of your spouse or civil partner’s death or you might lose some of your payments.

Call the Bereavement Service helpline or pick up a form at your local JobCentre Plus.

You can’t claim bereavement benefits if you were living together but weren’t married or in a civil partnership.

But, after the death of your partner, you can try applying for Universal Credit if you’re now living on a low income.

If you live in England, Scotland or Wales, you can contact the Tell Us Once service to cancel the deceased’s benefits and entitlements.

The Tell Us Once service can also inform the DVLA, HMRC, Passport Office and local council for you. And they can check if you qualify for help with funeral costs or other benefits.

Remember that you need to report any change of circumstances as soon as you can. This will help you get the benefits you’re entitled to.

To find you which benefits you could claim and how to make a claim, use one of the benefit calculators in the last section of this guide.

If you’re on a low income and struggling to pay for a funeral for your partner, close friend or relative, you can apply for a Funeral Expenses Payment.

If the person who died left money, you’ll usually need to pay back any amount you received through the Funeral Payments scheme.