When someone close to you has died, you may be able to claim certain bereavement allowances from the government. The claim you can make will depend on your financial circumstances and on your relationship with the person who's passed away.
Funeral expenses
If you receive benefits and your partner, or a close relative, friend or child you were responsible for has died, you may be eligible for help paying for the funeral expenses. This is known as a Funeral Expenses Payment in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and a Funeral Support Payment in Scotland.
These payments won't usually cover the entire cost of the funeral, but can help towards burial and cremation fees, travel for funeral arrangements or attendance, expenses for transporting the body within the UK if it needs to be relocated more than 50 miles and fees for death certificates or other necessary documentation.
The expenses you receive will depend on your circumstances; money available to cover the funeral from insurance policies or the deceased's estate will be taken into account. Visit the Get help with funeral costs page on the government website for detailed information on eligibility and links to application forms.
Bereavement Support Payment
If your spouse - husband, wife or civil partner - has died, you may be eligible for the government’s Bereavement Support Payment to help deal with the costs resulting from the death.
This payment was introduced for the surviving spouses of people who died after the 6th of April 2017. It replaces the one-off Bereavement Payment, monthly Bereavement Allowance and the Widowed Parent's Allowance, which was provided to those raising children.
Eligibility for Bereavement Support Payment doesn't depend on income or savings. How much you're paid depends on your age and if you have dependent children. It's also dependant on whether your partner who has died paid sufficient National Insurance contributions - they must have paid National Insurance contributions for at least 25 weeks. If they died as the result of an accident at work or a disease caused by work, this requirement is waived. You also must be under State Pension age to be eligible.
To receive the full amount of Bereavement Support Payment, you must file a claim for within three months of your partner’s death. While it's possible to make a claim up to 21 months after the death, payments will be reduced.
Following an initial lump sum, regular payments are made over 18 months. There are two payment rates. If you get or are entitled to Child Benefit, you'll be paid at the higher rate, with a first payment of £3,500 and 18 monthly payments at £350. Payments at the lower rate start with a first payment of £2,500 and 18 monthly payments of £100.
If you're already receive benefits, i's important to inform your benefits office when you start receiving Bereavement Support Payments. Initially, these payments don't impact your benefits but could affect the amount of benefit you’re eligible for after a year if you have any savings.
Payments are made directly to your bank or building society account.
Applying for Bereavement Support Payments
If you live in England, Scotland or Wales you can download a Bereavement Support Claim form from the government website, which you can submit by mail or take to your local Jobcentre Detailed notes on how to complete the application are also available.
It's also possible to apply over the phone and numbers for the government’s Bereavement Service helpline are available on the How to Claim page of the government website.
Although payments are the same, the application process in Northern Ireland is different. Information on how to apply for Bereavement Support Payment in Northern Ireland is available on the nidirect government services website.
The government's Money Advice website has a comprehensive guide to claiming Bereavement Support Payment and other bereavement benefits that you may qualify for if you're now living on a low income.