Bereavement Support Payment — Eligibility and How to Claim

What Bereavement Support Payment Is

Bereavement Support Payment replaced three older bereavement benefits — Bereavement Payment, Bereavement Allowance, and Widowed Parent's Allowance — for deaths occurring on or after 6 April 2017. If your partner died before that date, the older rules apply.

BSP is designed to provide short-term financial support in the period immediately following the death of a spouse or civil partner. It is paid as a one-off lump sum followed by up to 18 monthly payments. The payments are tax-free and do not count as income for Universal Credit or other means-tested benefits.

Who Can Claim

To be eligible for Bereavement Support Payment, you must meet all of the following:

Your relationship

You must have been married to, or in a civil partnership with, the person who died at the time of their death. Unmarried cohabiting partners cannot normally claim BSP, though there is a limited exception for cohabiting parents with dependent children (see below).

Your age

You must have been under State Pension age when your partner died.

Your partner's National Insurance record

Your partner must have paid National Insurance contributions for at least 25 weeks in any single tax year since 6 April 1975. Alternatively, they must have died as a result of a work-related accident or industrial disease — in which case the NI contribution requirement does not apply.

Cohabiting parents

Following a 2018 Supreme Court ruling and subsequent legislation, cohabiting parents who were raising a child together at the time of the death may be eligible for BSP. This applies where you were not married or in a civil partnership but were living together and were entitled to Child Benefit for a child in the household.

How Much You Get

BSP is paid at two rates depending on whether you were entitled to Child Benefit for a child living with you when your partner died (or were pregnant at the time).

These rates have been unchanged since BSP launched in April 2017 and were not uprated for 2026/27. Verify current rates at gov.uk/bereavement-support-payment.

When payments start

The lump sum and first monthly payment are typically paid together within a few weeks of a successful claim. Subsequent monthly payments are made automatically into the account you provide.

Timing matters

Claim within 3 months of your partner's death to receive the full 18 months of payments. If you claim between 3 and 21 months after the death, you will still receive the lump sum and remaining monthly payments, but for a shorter period. Claims made after 21 months will not normally be accepted.

How to Claim

The fastest way to claim is by phone. Call the DWP Bereavement Service on 0800 731 0469 (free, Monday–Friday 8am–6pm). An adviser will take your claim over the phone and can also check whether you are entitled to any other benefits at the same time.

You can also claim online at gov.uk/bereavement-support-payment, or download and post a claim form.

What you will need

• Your National Insurance number
• Your partner's National Insurance number
• The date and place of your partner's death
• Your bank or building society account details
• Details of any children you are responsible for and your Child Benefit reference number (if claiming the higher rate)

You do not need to wait for a death certificate to begin the claim — you can start the process and provide the certificate later.

Other Financial Support

Universal Credit

If you are on a low income following the death, you may be eligible for Universal Credit. BSP does not count as income for Universal Credit and you can receive both simultaneously.

Pension Credit

If you are over State Pension age, Pension Credit may provide top-up income. If your partner was over State Pension age when they died, you were not eligible for BSP, but may be entitled to inherit some of their Additional State Pension — contact DWP to check.

Council Tax reduction

If you are now living alone in a property, you are entitled to a 25% council tax discount (the single person discount). Contact your local council to apply. If you are on a low income, you may also qualify for a Council Tax Reduction.

Help from Citizens Advice

Citizens Advice offers free, impartial advice on all benefits, including checking what you are entitled to following a bereavement. They can help you complete claim forms and challenge any decisions you think are wrong.