Bereavement Support Payment: who can claim and how to apply

Financial help after a partner dies: who might qualify, what you could receive and why it is worth checking early.

Bereavement Support Payment helps with the financial impact of losing a partner. It is not means-tested: your earnings and savings do not decide whether you qualify or the rate you receive. You do not have to be receiving other benefits to apply.

It is worth checking early, even if you are unsure whether you qualify. Claiming later can mean receiving less. This is support after a partner's death, not a payment specifically towards a funeral bill.

Check eligibility and apply on GOV.UK

Northern Ireland: check eligibility and apply on nidirect

Who pays for a funeral?

Looking for help specifically with funeral costs? Find out about the estate, Funeral Expenses Payment and Scotland's Funeral Support Payment.

Who might qualify?

You may qualify if your partner died on or after 6 April 2017. At the time they died, you must have been under State Pension age and living in the UK or a country covered by the bereavement-benefit rules.

You were married or in a registered civil partnership; or you lived together as if you were married and met the Child Benefit or pregnancy condition below.
Your partner paid enough Class 1 or Class 2 National Insurance contributions in at least one tax year since 6 April 1975, or died because of an accident at work or a disease caused by work.
You cannot claim while you are in prison.

You can still claim if you are unsure about your partner's National Insurance record. The Bereavement Service can check it. If your partner died before 6 April 2017, ask about the older benefits instead.

Child Benefit, pregnancy and unmarried partners

For married couples and civil partners, the higher rate applies if, when your partner died, you were pregnant, getting Child Benefit for a child who lived with you, or had been told by the Child Benefit Office that you were entitled to it. Entitlement can count even if you chose not to receive the payments. Otherwise, the lower rate applies.

If you were not married or in a civil partnership, living together alone is not enough. You must have lived together as if married and, when your partner died, been pregnant, receiving Child Benefit for a child living with you, or told by the Child Benefit Office that you were entitled to it. Eligible unmarried partners receive the higher rate, not the lower rate.

If your partner was receiving or entitled to Child Benefit instead, make a new Child Benefit claim in your own name before applying for Bereavement Support Payment. The official guidance explains special backdated-claim rules; ask the Bereavement Service if you are unsure which rules apply to you.

The two payment rates

Higher rate: a one-off payment of £3,500, followed by up to 18 monthly payments of £350.
Lower rate (called the standard rate in Northern Ireland): a one-off payment of £2,500, followed by up to 18 monthly payments of £100.

These are the maximum payments, not a guarantee of the full amount. A later claim or reaching State Pension age can reduce the monthly payments. Payments go into your bank, building society or credit union account.

When to claim

Within 3 months of the death: claim within this window to receive the one-off payment and all 18 monthly payments, subject to the State Pension age rules.
Within 12 months: this is the cutoff for the one-off payment. Claiming after the first 3 months means fewer monthly payments.
After 12 months: the one-off payment is no longer available, but some monthly payments may still be available if you claim within the usual 21-month limit.
After 21 months: you usually cannot claim. An exception may apply if the cause of death was only recently confirmed; contact the Bereavement Service for advice.

Check the official claim-limit rules and exceptions

What to have ready

Your National Insurance number
Your partner's National Insurance number
The date your partner died
Your bank or building society account details

If you cannot find something, contact the Bereavement Service rather than waiting until a deadline. Do not enter these personal details into Lumaspace.

How to apply

In England, Scotland and Wales, GOV.UK explains how to apply online, by telephone or by post. Start by checking the eligibility guidance, then follow its application link.