Bereavement Support Payment
(under state pension age –
not means-tested)

How it works

You may be able to get Bereavement Support Payment if your partner has died.

It has replaced the following benefits:

• Widowed Parent’s Allowance – if you already get this, your payments will continue until you’re no longer eligible
• Bereavement Allowance (previously Widow’s Pension)
• Bereavement Payment

When your partner died, you must have been:

• under State Pension age
• living in the UK or a country that pays bereavement benefits

Your partner must have either:

• paid National Insurance contributions for at least 25 weeks in one tax year since 6 April 1975
• died because of an accident at work or a disease caused by work (you cannot claim Bereavement Support Payment if you’re in prison)

Your relationship to your partner
When your partner died you must have been either:

• married or in a registered civil partnership
• living together as though you were married

If you were married or in a registered civil partnership with the person who died
You can claim Bereavement Support Payment if your partner died in the last 21 months but you might get less than the usual 18 monthly payments.
You must claim within 3 months of your partner’s death to get the full amount.

What you’ll get

The amount of Bereavement Support Payment you can get will depend on your relationship to the person who died and when you make your claim.

Your payments will be paid into your bank, building society or credit union account.

If you were married or in a registered civil partnership with the person who died

You’ll get the higher rate if one of the following applied when your partner died:

you were getting Child Benefit

you were eligible for Child Benefit

you were pregnant

This is made up of:

a first payment of £3,500

up to 18 monthly payments of £350

If you were not eligible for Child Benefit, you’ll get the lower rate unless you were pregnant when your partner died.

This is made up of:

a first payment of £2,500

up to 18 monthly payments of £100

You must claim within 12 months of your partner’s death to get the first payment. If you claim after this time, you will only get monthly payments.

If you were living together as though you were married with the person who died

If your partner died before 30 August 2018

You will not get a first payment and may get up to 18 monthly payments of £350. You must make your claim before 9 February 2024 to get any monthly payments.

If your partner died on or after 30 August 2018, but before 9 February 2023

You may get a first payment of £3,500 and up to 18 monthly payments of £350. You must make your claim before 9 February 2024 to get the full amount.

If your partner died on or after 9 February 2023

You may get a first payment of £3,500 and up to 18 monthly payments of £350. To get the first payment of £3,500, you must claim within 12 months of your partner’s death. To get all of the monthly payments, you must claim within 3 months of your partner’s death.