Care and support

Bereavement payment

How much will I get?

A bereavement payment is a one-off lump sum payment. You can get a bereavement payment in addition to a widowed parent’s allowance or bereavement allowance. You may qualify for a bereavement payment if:

• you claim within twelve months of your spouse’s/civil partner’s death and
• your spouse / civil partner met the national insurance contribution conditions or their death was caused by industrial accident or disease and
• you were below state pension age when your late spouse / civil partner died (ie under 60 if you are a woman or under 65 if you are a man) or
• if you were over pension age, your late spouse / civil partner was not entitled to a category A state retirement pension when s/he died.

Your entitlement to a bereavement payment is not affected if you remarry after the death of your late spouse / civil partner. However, you are not entitled to a bereavement payment if, at the time of your spouse’s / civil partner’s death, you were co-habiting with someone else.

If your late spouse / civil partner was not in Great Britain at the time s/he died you may not qualify for a bereavement payment – please seek further advice.

A bereavement payment is a lump sum of £2,000.

If you are in receipt of a means-tested benefit you may also be entitled to a funeral expenses payment from the social fund. For more information about funeral expenses see later section.