Bereavement Support
Grief can be over-whelming, but you don’t have to deal with it alone. You can find specialist support through the following agencies, but get in touch with us if you’d like us to help you to do this:
Cruse Bereavement Support – Tel: 0808 8081677 – www.cruse.org.uk Cruse offers support, advice and information to children, young people and adults when someone dies.
Pete’s Dragons – Comfort after suicide loss –Tel: 01395 277780 Home – Pete’s Dragons (petesdragons.org.uk)
Bereavement Advice Centre – www.bereavementadvice.org Bereavement Advice Centre supports and advises people on practical issues to manage after a death.
The Bereavement Register – www.thebereavementregister.org.uk Free service to reduce unwanted direct mail to people that have passed away.
Widowed and Young – www.widowedandyoung.org.uk WAY is the only national charity in the UK for men and women aged 50 or under when their partner died. It’s a peer-to-peer support group, run by a network of volunteers who have been bereaved at a young age themselves, so they understand exactly what other members are going through.
Independent Age – www.independentage.org/information/personal-life/when-someone-dies This page has information on the practical things that need to be done when someone dies and advice on coping when you’ve been bereaved.
Force Cancer Charity – www.forcecancercharity.co.uk/supporting-you Force offer help and support to those who have suffered a bereavement as a result of cancer.
Rehab4Addiction – www.rehab4addiction.co.uk Supporting those affected by substance misuse and their loved ones.
The Loss of a Child
Child Bereavement UK – www.childbereavementuk.org/support Offers a series of booked phone sessions for parents bereaved of a baby or child of any age. Mon-Fri 9-5.
Sands – www.sands.org.uk Stillbirth and neonatal death charity. Support for people who have been affected by stillbirth or the death of a newborn child, no matter how long ago their child died.
Services for Bereaved Children
Balloons – www.balloonscharity.co.uk Works with pre and post-bereaved children, young people and their families. Provides 1:1 support with a trained grief support worker.
Winstons Wish – winstonswish.org.uk Charity for bereaved children. Can provide support and information for people who are trying to help grandchildren around the death of a parent.
Children and Families In Grief – www.childrenandfamiliesingrief.co.uk Works with bereaved families who have children under 18 and for whom grief is impacting on the children’s behaviour.
Benefits and Financial Support When Someone Dies – Bereavement Support Payment
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
Eligibility
Bereavement Support Payment is not means-tested. This means what you earn or how much you have in savings will not affect what you get.
When your partner died, you must have been:
- Under State Pension age
- Living in the UK or a country that pays bereavement benefits
- Married to your partner, in a civil partnership with them, or living with them as if you were married
Your partner must have either:
- Paid a certain amount of Class 1 or Class 2 National Insurance contributions in any one tax year since 6 April 1975
- Died because of an accident at work or a disease caused by work
You can still make a claim if you’re not sure whether your partner paid enough National Insurance contributions. The Bereavement Service will let you know.
You cannot claim Bereavement Support Payment if you’re in prison.
When you make your claim
You usually need to make a claim within 21 months of your partner’s death.
If it’s been over 21 months since your partner’s death, you may still be able to make a claim if their cause of death was only recently confirmed. Call the Bereavement Service helpline for help.
How soon you make your claim can also affect how much money you’ll get. You usually need to make a claim within 3 months of your partner’s death to get the full amount of payments.
If your partner died before 9 February 2023
You may be able to get backdated payments of Bereavement Support Payment if:
- Your partner died after 5 April 2017
- When your partner died, you were living together as if you were married
- You were under State Pension age on 30 August 2018
You must have also either been pregnant when your partner died, or you had a child living with you when your partner died and either:
- You’ve got Child Benefit for that child between when your partner died and when you make your claim
- You’ve been told by the Child Benefit Office that you were entitled to Child Benefit for that child between when your partner died and when you make your claim
You must apply by 9 February 2024 to get the full amount of backdated payments. You can still apply up until 8 November 2024, but you will not get the full amount.
If your partner died before 6 April 2017, you may be able to get Widowed Parent’s Allowance instead.
If you were living with your partner as if you were married
Unless you’re applying for a backdated payment, one of the following must have applied when your partner died:
- You were getting Child Benefit for a child that lived with you
- You were told by the Child Benefit Office that you were entitled to Child Benefit for a child that lived with you, even if you chose not to get it
- You were pregnant
If your partner was getting or entitled to Child Benefit instead, you’ll need to make a new claim for Child Benefit in your name before you can apply for Bereavement Support Payment.
What you’ll get
The amount of Bereavement Support Payment you can get will depend on:
- Your relationship to the person who died
- When you make your claim
- When you reach State Pension age
Your payments will be paid into your bank, building society or credit union account.
Your relationship to the person who died
If you were married or in a registered civil partnership
You’ll get the higher rate if one of the following applied when your partner died:
- You were getting Child Benefit for a child that lived with you
- You were told by the Child Benefit Office that you were entitled to Child Benefit for a child that lived with you
- You were pregnant
The most you can get is:
- A one-off payment of £3,500
- 18 monthly payments of £350
If you’re not eligible for the higher rate, you’ll get the lower rate instead.
The most you can get is:
- A one-off payment of £2,500
- 18 monthly payments of £100
If you were living together as if you were married
The most you can get is:
- A one-off payment of £3,500
- 18 monthly payments of £350
When you make your claim
You must claim within 3 months of your partner’s death to get the one-off payment and all 18 monthly payments.
If it’s been over 3 months but fewer than 12 months since your partner’s death, you can get the one-off payment but only some of the monthly payments.
If it’s been over 12 months but fewer than 21 months since your partner’s death, you cannot get the one-off payment but you can still get some monthly payments.
If it’s been over 21 months since your partner’s death, you usually cannot get any payments.
If you’re making a claim for backdated payments
The rules are different for claiming backdated payments.
If your partner died on or after 30 August 2018, you may get both the one-off payment and up to 18 monthly payments.
If your partner died before 30 August 2018, you cannot get the one-off payment but you may get up to 18 monthly payments.
You must apply by 9 February 2024 to get the full amount of backdated payments. You can still apply up until 8 November 2024, but you will not get the full amount.
When you reach State Pension age
If you reach State Pension age within 18 months of your partner’s death, you may get fewer monthly payments.
If you get benefits
Bereavement Support Payment will not affect your benefits for a year after your first payment. After a year, money you have left from your first payment could affect the amount you get if you renew or make a claim for another benefit.
You must tell your benefits office (for example, your local Jobcentre Plus) when you start getting Bereavement Support Payment.
How to claim
You can apply for Bereavement Support Payment online, by telephone or by post.
To apply, you’ll need:
- Your National Insurance number
- Your bank or building society account details
- The date your partner died
- Your partner’s National Insurance number
You can apply online here:
Benefits and financial support when someone dies – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
or by phone on: 0800 151 2012