Bereavement Payment

Who can get it?

You can claim Bereavement Payment if your husband, wife or civil partner:

• met the National Insurance contribution conditions or their death was caused by their job; and

• was not entitled to Retirement Pension when s/he died, or if you were under State Pension age when s/he died.

Entitlement depends on the National Insurance contribution record of your husband, wife or civil partner. S/he must have paid contributions on wages of at least 25 times the lower earnings limit (see page 9) in any tax year since April 1975, or 25 flat-rate contributions in any year before that.

How much do you get?

The Bereavement Payment is a one-off, tax-free lump sum of £2,000 (unchanged since 2002).

How to claim

You can make a claim over the telephone by contacting the Bereavement Service Helpline on 0345 606 0265 (Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm). You can order a Bereavement Benefits pack (form BB1) over the telephone from your nearest Jobcentre Plus office. The pack has help notes on how to complete the claim form.

You can also download a Bereavement Benefits pack from: www.gov.uk/bereavement-payment/how-to-claim.