Bereavement support payment for kinship carers

What is a Bereavement Support Payment?

Bereavement Support Payment has replaced Bereavement Allowance, Widowed Parent’s Allowance and Bereavement Payment from 6 April 2017.

Bereavement Support Payment is a benefit that you may be able to apply for if:

• your spouse, civil partner or partner you lived with died after 6 April 2017 and provided a child or children lived with you

It is not a means tested benefit. This means you can claim regardless of your income or whether you’re in or out of work.

There are certain eligibility criteria set out below.

What has changed about Bereavement Support Payment?

Simply, the law has changed. The eligibility criteria for Bereavement Support Payments have extended to cohabiting partners – provided the claimant has a child or children.

From 9 February 2023, kinship carers who aren’t married or in a civil partnership can now claim the Bereavement Support Payment.

Previously, to claim this benefit, you needed to be married or in a civil partnership. The change means that you may now be entitled to this benefit.

This law also applies to you if you could have claimed Widowed Parent’s Allowance. This was payable to bereaved parents whose partner died before 6 April 2017.

When to apply for Bereavement Support Payment

You can apply if you are a kinship carer and have a child or children who were living with you and your partner when they died.

You can claim Bereavement Support Payment from 9 February 2023. You should try and make a claim within three months of your partner’s death.

Important Information

You can still get the full amount of Bereavement Support Payment that you’re entitled to if:

• your partner died before 9 February 2023 and you weren’t married or in a civil partnership

You will need to make a claim before 8 February 2024 so that you don’t lose out on any payments of this benefit.

Eligibility for Bereavement Support Payment

When your partner died, you must have been under State Pension age and living in the UK to claim.

Your partner must have either paid National Insurance contributions for at least 25 weeks in one tax year since 6 April 1975. Or died because of an accident at work or a disease caused by work.

When your partner died, you must have been either getting Child Benefit or entitled to child benefit but not receiving it. This means you were eligible for Child Benefit, but you had not made a claim for it.

If your partner died before 6 April 2017, you may be able to get Widowed Parent’s Allowance instead.

How much Bereavement Support Payment will I get?

If you have children or you’re pregnant, you can get a lump sum payment of £3,500. You can also receive monthly payments of £350 for up to 18 months.

You may receive fewer payments if your partner died after 9 February 2023, and you claim more than three months after your partner’s death. You can find further information about what you will receive on the GOV.UK – Bereavement Support Payment – how much will I get page.

Will the Bereavement Support Payment affect other benefits?

The payment will not affect your benefits for the first year.

After one year any money you have left from your first payment could affect the amount of benefit you receive.

You have a duty to notify the relevant benefits office of any changes in your income. You should notify them when you start to receive Bereavement Support Payments.

How to claim Bereavement Support Payment

You can apply for Bereavement Support Payment online, by telephone or by post.

You can find further information about how you can apply and what you will need from the GOV.UK Bereavement Support Payment how to claim information page.