Bereavement Support Payment


From 6 April 2017, a new benefit, Bereavement Support Payment, replaced the previous suite of bereavement benefits (Bereavement Payment, Bereavement Allowance and Widowed Parent’s Allowance) for those whose spouse or civil partner dies on or after this date. The changes do not affect those already in receipt of the previous bereavement benefits. They continue to receive their current benefits for the natural lifetime of the award. 


The government claimed the change shifts the focus of bereavement benefits from replacing the deceased spouse or civil partner’s earnings to helping with the additional and more immediate costs of bereavement.


Bereavement Support Payment:


• is not taxable;


• does not count towards the Benefit Cap (see Chapter 2); 


• is subject to a disregard in the calculation of income-based benefits; and


• does not affect other benefits for a year after the first payment, although after a year, any payment left over could affect the amount of benefit the bereaved person is eligible for. 


In addition, a bereaved person who remarries or re-partners will be able to keep their Bereavement Support Payment (which was not the case with regard to the benefits it replaced) and there is a higher rate for pregnant women and people with dependent children.


The government originally proposed that the benefit would be paid for 12 months. However, it was forced to reconsider, following representations from parliamentary committees and groups supporting bereaved people, and it is now paid for up to 18 months.


Bereaved parents can receive an initial payment of £3,500 followed by up to 18 monthly payments of £350. Those without children can receive an initial payment of £2,500 followed by up to 18 monthly payments of £100.


To be eligible, the person who died must either have paid National Insurance Contributions (NICs) for at least 25 weeks, or died because of an accident at work or a disease caused by work. In addition, when they died, their surviving partner must have been under State Pension Age (SPA) and living in the UK or a country that pays bereavement benefits.