Bereavement benefits

We all need support after the death of someone close. Bereavement benefits provide extra money to ease the financial strain after the death of a spouse or civil partner if you're under State Pension age. You can claim even if you’re not on a low income. There may be other financial help available.

Bereavement Support Payment

Bereavement Support Payment (BSP) is available to anyone under State Pension age whose spouse or civil partner has died. The partner must have either:

made enough National Insurance (NI) contributions
died because of an accident at work or a disease caused by work.

It provides a one-off lump sum followed by up to 18 monthly payments. BSP isn’t means-tested and all payments are tax free. BSP has been introduced for claims relating to a death on or after 6 April 2017.

There are two rates of support:

if you’re pregnant or entitled to Child Benefit, you may receive a £3,500 lump sum and a £350 monthly payment
if you're not entitled to Child Benefit, you may get a £2,500 lump sum and a £100 monthly payment.

You’ll receive a maximum of 18 monthly payments if you claim within three months of the death. If you claim after that, the number of payments will be reduced.

How to claim

You can apply using a form or by phone:

download a Bereavement Support Pack (form BSP1) from Gov.uk or ask your local Jobcentre Plus to send you one
call the Bereavement Service helpline on 0800 731 0469.

If you get other benefits

If you’re claiming other benefits, you must tell your benefits office if you claim Bereavement Support Payment. It won’t affect your benefits for a year after your first payment but if there is any left over after that, they could be affected.

Other bereavement benefits

Bereavement Support Payment has replaced three other benefits. These benefits apply if your spouse or partner died on or before 5 April 2017. You can only claim now in exceptional circumstances, for example if you didn’t find out about the death straight away. Find out if you can claim on Gov.uk:

Bereavement Payment – a one-off payment
Bereavement Allowance – monthly payments
Widowed Parent's Allowance – fortnightly payments if you’re bringing up children

If you’re already claiming these bereavement benefits, you will continue to receive them as long as you still meet the qualifying criteria. You don’t need to do anything.

Other help

If the death has left you with less money coming in, you may be eligible for other benefits. Call our Helpline to arrange a free benefits check or try our benefits calculator.

If you’re responsible for arranging a funeral and need help with costs, you may be eligible for a Funeral Expenses Payment (also called a Funeral Payment) if you’re receiving certain benefits, including Pension Credit.

You’ll need to be a close relative or close friend of the person who died. If there’s an alternative close relative, you may not be able to claim this benefit. You’ll need to make a claim within six months of the funeral.

The payment can cover:

burial and plot or cremation costs
certain essential travel costs
up to £700 for funeral expenses, such as a coffin, flowers or funeral director’s fees.

If there’s any money left from the deceased person’s estate, you’ll usually have to use this to repay the Funeral Payment.

To apply for a Funeral Payment, complete form SF200, which you can get from your local Jobcentre Plus or by calling the Bereavement Service Helpline on 0800 731 0469. You can also download a funeral payment form from Gov.uk.