Bereavement benefits if you are under pension age

If your partner has died, you might be able to claim Bereavement Support Payment.

Bereavement Support Payments

If your partner has died, you might be able to claim Bereavement Support Payment.

If you and your partner weren’t married or in a civil partnership, you can only claim Bereavement Support Payment if:

• you look after a child who lived with you and your partner
• you get Child Benefit for this child

You need to have been under your State Pension age when your partner died.

Your partner must have either:

• paid National Insurance contributions for at least 25 weeks in one tax year
• died because of an accident at work, or a disease caused by their work

When you apply, the DWP will check to see if your partner paid enough National Insurance contributions.

If you don’t have children, you can get a lump sum payment of £2,500 and monthly payments of £100 for up to 18 months.

If you have children or you’re pregnant, you can get a lump sum payment of £3,500 and monthly payments of £350 for up to 18 months.  Amounts may differ due to changes in law for Bereavement Benefit Support.

You can get Bereavement Support Payments if you are working – it is not affected by the money you earn and is paid in addition to all other benefits you may be entitled to.

You should try and fill in the form within 3 months of your partner’s death to get the full amount of money. After 3 months, the DWP will count your application as late. You’ll lose one monthly payment for every month your application is late.  To get the lump sum, your application must reach the DWP within 12 months of your partner’s death.

To make a claim for Bereavement Support Payment you can:

• apply online https://www.gov.uk/bereavement-support-payment
• apply by phone: Bereavement Service Helpline Telephone: 0800 151 2012