The Department for Work and Pensions is offering a £3,500 lump sum payment to certain families after a major benefit update.
According to DWP guidelines, you may be entitled to Bereavement Support Payment following the death of your partner. The benefit has replaced three 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) and Bereavement Payment. The sum you receive is dependent on a number of factors.
The maximum amount available is a £3,500 one-off lump sum payment, or 18 monthly instalments of £350, as stated on the DWP website.
Bereavement Support Payment is not means-tested. This means that your earnings or savings will have no bearing on the amount you are entitled to receive.
At the time of your partner’s death, you must have been under State Pension age and residing in the UK or a country that provides bereavement benefits.
You must also be either married to your partner, in a civil partnership with them, or living together as though you were married, reports Birmingham Live.
Your partner must have either paid a certain amount of Class 1 or Class 2 National Insurance contributions in any one tax year since April 6 1975 or died because of an accident at work or a disease caused by work.
Even if you are uncertain whether your partner contributed sufficient National Insurance payments, you can still submit a claim. The Bereavement Service will be able to advise you accordingly.
Those in prison are not eligible to claim Bereavement Support Payment. Claims must typically be submitted within 21 months of a partner’s death.
Should more than 21 months have passed since your partner’s death, a claim may still be possible if the cause of death was only recently confirmed.
The timing of your claim can also have a direct impact on the amount you receive. To receive the full amount, you will generally need to lodge your claim within 3 months of your partner’s death.