The death of a partner, close friend or relative is very difficult. This can be even harder if you now have to live on a lower income. The help you can claim depends on your relationship with the person who died and whether you were married, in a civil partnership or living them. Find out more about bereavement benefits and other help you might qualify for if you’re now on a low income.
What’s in this guide
- Bereavement benefits if you were married or in a civil partnership
- Bereavement Support Payment
- How much is Bereavement Support Payment?
- How do I claim Bereavement Support Payment?
- Bereavement benefits if you were living together
- How to claim benefits if you’re on a low income
- Funeral Expenses Payment
- How your bereavement benefits affect other benefits
- Benefits calculators
Bereavement benefits if you were married or in a civil partnership
Bereavement benefits are for people whose husband, wife or civil partner has died. Which benefits, and how much you qualify for, will depend on:
- your age
- whether you have dependent children
- whether the person who died paid enough National Insurance contributions during their working lives.
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
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.
How much is Bereavement Support Payment?
Bereavement Support Payment is paid at either a higher rate or standard rate:
Higher rate
Paid to pregnant women or if you’re entitled to Child Benefit. In 2021/22 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.
Standard rate
For everyone else. In 2021/22 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.
How do I claim Bereavement Support Payment?
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.
Bereavement Service helpline
Telephone: 0800 731 0469
Welsh language: 0800 731 0453
Textphone: 0800 731 0464
Welsh language: 0800 731 0456
Monday to Friday, 9.30am to 3.30pm
Bereavement benefits if you were living together
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.
How to claim benefits if you’re on a low income
Top tip
If you’re facing a drop in income after your partner dies, you might be able to claim a Universal Credit. This will top up your income and help with things like housing costs or bringing up children.
Some benefits are means-tested. This means any savings or income you have will affect whether you’re entitled to benefit payments.
This includes an inheritance taking your savings over the £16,000 threshold.
Try to report the death as soon as you can. This will help you get the benefits you’re entitled to as quickly as possible.
To do this, you’ll need to let the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) know the person has died
Is your household income getting squeezed?
If you’re facing higher living costs, but have little or no extra money coming in, find out about extra sources of income and support available to help you manage your household bills and save money in our guide What benefits you can claim and other ways to increase your income
Tell Us Once
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.
Bereavement Service helpline
To find out about Bereavement Support Payment, call The Bereavement Service helpline on 0800 731 0469, or 0800 731 0453 for a Welsh speaking service.
Find out more, including call charges, on the GOV.UK website
Northern Ireland
If you live in Northern Ireland, contact the Bereavement Service on 0800 085 2463.
Find out more on the nidirect website
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.
Funeral Expenses Payment
What is Funeral Expenses Payment?
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.
How much you’ll get
The amount you get depends on your circumstances and your relationship with the person who died. But it might be up to £1,000 towards funeral expenses, plus payments to go towards the costs of things such as burial or cremation fees.
Find out more about eligibility and how to apply for a Funeral Expenses Payment in our guide Help paying for a funeral
How your bereavement benefits affect other benefits
If you are getting Bereavement Support Payment, it won’t affect your other benefits for a year.
After then, the income you get from it will be taken into account for means-tested benefits. These include:
- Tax Credits
- Universal Credit
- Income Support
- Incapacity Benefit
- Jobseeker’s Allowance
- Carer’s Allowance
- Employment and Support Allowance.
The lump sum you get as part of Bereavement Support Payment might count as savings when your entitlement to some means-tested benefits is worked out.
This will only be if you have any of the lump sum left over after 12 months that takes you over the savings limit of £6,000 for means-tested benefits.
This means you might get less of any of these benefits you might be getting:
- Income Support
- Housing Benefit
- Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
- Employment and Support Allowance
- Universal Credit.
To find out more about how other benefits might be affected, call The Bereavement Service helpline on 0800 731 0469, or 0800 731 0453 for a Welsh speaking service.
Find out more, including call charges, on the GOV.UK website
If you live in Northern Ireland, contact the Bereavement Service on 0800 085 2463. Find out more on the nidirect website
Benefits calculators
There are various benefit calculators to help you work out what you’re entitled to, including on these websites:
