Care and support

What are bereavement benefits?

Bereavement benefits replaced the old system of widow’s benefits. Bereavement benefits can now be claimed by both men and women.

Women whose husbands died before 9.4.01 can continue to receive widow’s benefits under the old system as long as they continue to satisfy the rules. You must have been legally married in order to make a claim.

Entitlement to bereavement benefits is not affected by any savings or income you may have. You can work and get bereavement benefits. There are three bereavement benefits you may be able to claim:

• bereavement payment and either a
• widowed parent’s allowance or
• bereavement allowance.

To be entitled to these benefits, you must have been legally married or part of a registered civil partnership and your late spouse / civil partner must have paid enough national insurance (NI) contributions. The contribution conditions do not have to be met if your late spouse / civil partner died because of an industrial injury or disease. Your own NI contributions do not count. You cannot get bereavement benefits if you:

• are divorced from your late spouse or you have had your civil partnership dissolved or annulled
• remarry or you enter into a new civil partnership (with the exception of bereavement payment – see below)
• are living with someone else as husband and wife without being legally married
• are living as one of a couple in a same sex relationship
• are in prison or being held in legal custody

Although the conditions are relatively easy to satisfy, you may want to seek further advice before making a claim.