Bereavement Support Payment: what is it?
Posted on 26th September 2022
If your husband, wife, or civil partner died in the last 21 months you could be eligible for the Bereavement Support Payment (BSP).
It is a welfare benefit to help you financially following your loss. It replaces the Bereavement Allowance (previously the Widow’s Pension), Bereavement Payment, and Widowed Parent’s Allowance.
Who is eligible for BSP?
BSP isn’t means-tested but to be eligible you should be claiming either standard or higher rate benefits and be responsible for children.
Your partner must have paid National Insurance contributions for at least 25 weeks in one tax year since 6 April 1975. You would also be eligible if your partner died because of an accident at work or a disease caused by work.
You could still claim BSP if the cause of death of your husband, wife or civil partner was only confirmed more than 21 months after they died.
Payments are made for up to 18 months after their death, so it’s important to apply as soon as you can.
Currently Bereavement Support is only available to people who are married or in a civil partnership. The courts have said the not making the same provision for cohabiting families isn’t compatible with parents’ or children's human rights. The government said it would make a remedial order to put this right in 2020 but in July 2022 this still had not happened.
What support does BSP provide?
To receive the full amount of support available, your claim must be made within three months of your partner’s death.
You must have been under State Pension age when they died and living in the UK or a country that pays bereavement payments. There is a standard and higher rate of payment.
|
|
Standard Rate |
Higher Rate |
|
Initial lump sum |
£2,500 |
£3,500 |
|
Up to 18 further monthly payments |
£100 |
£350 |
You will receive the higher rate if you receive or were entitled to Child Benefit when your partner died or you were pregnant. The payments aren’t taxable and won’t affect other benefits you receive.
If you qualified for Marriage Allowance payments from April 2015 but had not claimed them you could also claim four years’ backdated missed payments.
How to apply for BSP
You can download a claim form, visit your local JobCentre Plus, or ask for help from Citizens Advice. You can also call the Bereavement Service helpline on 0800 151 2012.
Losing a parent is a tragic loss for any family, but the latest figures show that over 23,500 parents die each year. To be sure you decide how your children will be looked after should you both die it’s important to appoint guardians for them in your Will.
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