Benefits After Bereavement UK (2026): All the Benefits You Can Claim When Someone Close Dies

Bereavement Support Payment (BSP) is the main bereavement benefit for people of working age whose spouse, civil partner, or (since August 2018) cohabiting partner dies. It replaced Bereavement Allowance and Widowed Parent's Allowance for deaths on or after 6 April 2017: (1) WHO QUALIFIES: to receive BSP you must: (a) be under State Pension age at the time of your partner's death; (b) have been married, in a civil partnership, or cohabiting with a child or children (since August 2018 court ruling, R (on the application of McLaughlin) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2018]); (c) your deceased partner must have paid at least 25 weeks of National Insurance contributions (or died as a result of an industrial accident or disease); (d) you must be living in the UK, the EEA, Switzerland, or a country with a social security agreement with the UK; (2) THE TWO RATES (2025-26): (a) Higher rate (if you have dependent children or were pregnant when your partner died): lump sum payment of £3,500 on first payment; then £350 per month for up to 18 months. (b) Standard rate (if you do not have dependent children): lump sum of £2,500; then £100 per month for up to 18 months; (3) CLAIMING BSP: claim within 3 months of the death to receive payments from the date of death. Claims made after 3 months are backdated to the date of claim, not the death, meaning you lose payments for the unclaimed period. Claim online at gov.uk or by calling DWP Bereavement Service (0800 731 0469); (4) INTERACTION WITH TAX AND OTHER BENEFITS: BSP is: (a) not taxable; (b) not counted as income for means-tested benefits (Universal Credit; Housing Benefit; Council Tax Reduction), it does not affect your entitlement to these benefits; (c) counted as income for the purpose of Child Maintenance calculations; (5) NOT AVAILABLE TO: (a) people over State Pension age when their partner dies (they may instead receive additional State Pension or Pension Credit based on the deceased's NI record); (b) people whose partner had insufficient NI contributions (unless industrial death); (c) people in a non-qualifying relationship at the time of death; (6) COHABITING PARTNERS, IMPORTANT: before August 2018, unmarried cohabitants could not claim BSP. Following the McLaughlin judgment, cohabiting partners with children have been entitled to BSP. However, as of 2026, this still requires that there be a dependent child. Cohabiting couples without children cannot claim BSP, a significant gap in bereavement benefit provision.

Widowed Parent's Allowance (WPA) was a weekly benefit for widowed parents with dependent children. It was replaced by Bereavement Support Payment for deaths on or after 6 April 2017, but it continues to be paid to people who claimed it before that date: (1) WHO CAN STILL CLAIM WPA: only people bereaved BEFORE 6 April 2017 who are still in receipt of WPA can still claim it. No new WPA claims can be made for deaths after 6 April 2017. If your spouse died before 6 April 2017 and you have been receiving WPA, you continue to receive it under the old rules until you cease to be entitled (e.g. you remarry; your youngest child reaches 20; you reach State Pension age; your circumstances otherwise change); (2) THE AMOUNT (2025-26): WPA is up to £121.95 per week (2025-26 rate), depending on the deceased's National Insurance record. It is taxable and counts as income for other means-tested benefits; (3) BEREAVEMENT ALLOWANCE (ALSO REPLACED): Bereavement Allowance was a weekly payment for widows and widowers aged 45 or over who did not have children. It was also replaced for deaths after 6 April 2017. Previous claimants continue to receive it under the old rules; (4) THE CRITICISM OF BSP vs WPA: many bereaved people on WPA were better off under the old system. WPA was a weekly income for up to the child reaching 20, potentially many years. BSP is limited to 18 months regardless of whether the bereaved parent continues to need income. The Social Security Advisory Committee has highlighted the inadequacy of BSP compared to WPA for people bereaved in the first years of parenthood; (5) THE POSITION FOR BEREAVED PARENTS AFTER 18 MONTHS: once BSP ends (18 months after the death), bereaved parents may be entitled to: (a) Universal Credit (means-tested; work allowance for single parents); (b) Working Tax Credit if employed; (c) Child Tax Credit; (d) Housing Benefit / Council Tax Reduction. A financial review at the end of the BSP period is important to ensure the bereaved person claims everything they are entitled to.

The death of a spouse or partner can affect entitlement to a wide range of means-tested and non-means-tested benefits and housing/tax reductions: (1) PENSION CREDIT: Pension Credit is means-tested and available to people over the qualifying age (~66 in 2025-26). After a bereavement: (a) Guarantee Credit ensures a minimum weekly income (£218.15/week for single person 2025-26); (b) the deceased's State Pension, occupational pension, and savings no longer count as the household income, meaning the survivor's Pension Credit entitlement may increase; (c) a bereaved person's own State Pension may be boosted by the deceased's NI contributions. Pension Credit should be reclaimed or reviewed on every change of circumstance; (2) COUNCIL TAX, SINGLE PERSON DISCOUNT: a Council Tax 25% single person discount applies when there is only one adult living in the property. If a couple shared a property and one dies, the survivor becomes entitled to the 25% single person discount immediately. Notify the local council as soon as possible, it may be backdated to the date of death; (3) COUNCIL TAX EXEMPTION, BEREAVED PERSON'S PROPERTY: the property is exempt from Council Tax for up to 6 months after the death if the property was the deceased's main or only home AND the estate is in the process of being administered. This exemption applies even if the property is occupied by someone who is not liable for council tax. The executor should notify the council; (4) HOUSING BENEFIT: Housing Benefit (for those not on Universal Credit) is means-tested. Bereavement can affect the award: (a) the surviving partner may qualify if their income falls; (b) a bereaved person's household is assessed without the deceased's income; (c) important to notify the council of the death promptly to avoid overpayment (the council must be told within 21 days in most cases); (5) UNIVERSAL CREDIT: Universal Credit (UC) is the main working-age means-tested benefit. After bereavement: (a) UC is assessed on household circumstances, a single claimant's UC assessment will reflect the fact that they are now assessed alone; (b) UC has specific run-on periods for bereaved claimants; (c) BSP is not counted as income for UC. The UC bereavement element includes a 'run-on', continued payment of the couple element for the assessment period in which the death occurs and the following 2 months; (6) STATE PENSION AFTER BEREAVEMENT: the surviving spouse/civil partner may be entitled to inherit Additional State Pension (SERPS/S2P) earned by the deceased on top of their own State Pension. The maximum that can be inherited is 50% of the deceased's Additional State Pension. This is checked automatically by DWP when BSP is claimed.

When a parent dies, specific benefits and entitlements exist for the surviving parent and the children: (1) CHILD BENEFIT: Child Benefit continues for the surviving parent if they have responsibility for the child. If the deceased was the Child Benefit recipient and the other parent survives, they should notify HMRC and transfer the Child Benefit claim. If the child had no surviving parent, Child Benefit continues to whoever looks after the child; (2) GUARDIAN'S ALLOWANCE: if both parents have died (or one has died and the other is in prison or can never be found), and someone else takes on the care of the children, Guardian's Allowance is payable at £21.75 per week per child (2025-26) on top of Child Benefit. Claim from HMRC; (3) CHILD TAX CREDIT / UNIVERSAL CREDIT CHILD ELEMENT: the surviving parent continues to receive Child Tax Credit or the UC child element for their children. There is no need to reclaim, the existing claim continues, but the DWP must be notified of the change in circumstances (change from couple to single claim) to ensure the correct amount is paid; (4) FREE SCHOOL MEALS: free school meals are available to children in households receiving certain means-tested benefits (Universal Credit; Child Tax Credit; income-based JSA or ESA) below the income threshold. A bereaved parent whose income falls after the death may newly qualify; (5) EDUCATION MAINTENANCE ALLOWANCE (EMA): EMA is available in Wales (not England) for 16-19-year-olds in full-time education from households with low income. After a bereavement, the household income may fall below the threshold and entitlement may arise for the first time; (6) FUNERAL EXPENSES PAYMENT: a Funeral Expenses Payment from the Social Fund (gov.uk/funeral-payments) is available for people receiving qualifying benefits (Universal Credit; Pension Credit; Housing Benefit; income-related ESA or JSA; Income Support; Child Tax Credit) who are responsible for the funeral. The payment covers the cost of a basic funeral (certain fees; burial/cremation; reasonable travel). It is repayable from any estate; (7) BEREAVEMENT PAYMENT FROM EMPLOYER DEATH IN SERVICE: this is not a state benefit, it is a contractual benefit from the employer. The surviving family should check the deceased's employment contract and pension scheme for any death in service lump sum (typically 2-4 times annual salary). Expression of wishes form determines who receives the lump sum from the pension trustee.

Acting promptly avoids losing payments that cannot be backdated beyond specific deadlines: (1) IMMEDIATE ACTIONS (within 1-2 weeks of death): (a) register the death (legally required within 5 days in England and Wales); (b) notify the DWP of the death using the Tell Us Once service (gov.uk/tell-us-once), one notification covers HMRC, DVLA, DWP, Local Council, Passport Office, and other government departments; (c) notify the employer of the death, to trigger any death in service payment and stop salary/payroll; (d) if the deceased was receiving State Pension, DWP Pension Credit, or any other DWP benefit, payments must stop to avoid overpayments; (2) WITHIN 3 MONTHS OF DEATH: claim Bereavement Support Payment (BSP) within 3 months to receive backdated payments from the date of death. After 3 months, BSP is only backdated to the date of claim; (3) WITHIN 3 MONTHS, COUNCIL TAX: notify the local council of the death to: (a) trigger the 6-month council tax exemption; (b) ensure the single person discount is applied; (c) transfer or cancel bills in the deceased's name; (4) WITHIN 6 MONTHS, INHERITANCE ACT CLAIM: if considering a claim under I(PFD)A 1975, the claim must be issued in court within 6 months of the date the grant of probate is first taken out. Monitor the probate application with a standing search; (5) KEY DWP CONTACT NUMBERS: DWP Bereavement Service: 0800 731 0469 (free to call; deals with BSP, WPA, and State Pension bereavement matters); Tax Credits helpline (HMRC): 0345 300 3900; Pension Service: 0800 731 0469; Universal Credit (new claim): 0800 328 5644; (6) BENEFITS AVAILABLE AT A GLANCE: (a) working age, children: BSP (higher rate); Child Benefit; UC or Working Tax Credit; (b) working age, no children: BSP (standard rate); UC if means-tested; (c) pension age surviving spouse: additional State Pension inheritance; Pension Credit; single person discount; (d) bereaved children (no surviving parent): Guardian's Allowance; (e) all: Tell Us Once; Council Tax exemption 6 months; Funeral Expenses Payment (if on qualifying benefit); employer death in service; (7) FINANCIAL ADVICE: the bereaved person should consider a financial planning review, particularly regarding pension benefits (final salary scheme death benefits; defined contribution expression of wishes; SERPS/S2P inheritance). A qualified financial adviser or pension specialist can identify further entitlements.