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You may be able to get Bereavement Support Payment if your partner has died. It has replaced the following benefits:

• Widowed Parent鈥檚 Allowance - if you already get this, your payments will continue until you鈥檙e no longer eligible
• Bereavement Allowance (previously Widow鈥檚 Pension)
• Bereavement Payment

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 cannot claim Bereavement Support Payment if you鈥檙e in prison.

When you need to make your claim

You usually need to make a claim within 21 months of your partner鈥檚 death.

If it鈥檚 been over 21 months since your partner鈥檚 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鈥檒l get. You usually need to make a claim within 3 months of your partner鈥檚 death to get the full amount of payments.

If you were living with your partner as if you were married

Unless you鈥檙e 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鈥檒l need to make a new claim for Child Benefit in your name before you can apply for Bereavement Support Payment.

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鈥檒l 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 拢3,500
• 18 monthly payments of 拢350

If you鈥檙e not eligible for the higher rate, you鈥檒l get the lower rate instead.

The most you can get is:

• a one-off payment of 拢2,500
• 18 monthly payments of 拢100

If you were living together as if you were married

The most you can get is:

• a one-off payment of 拢3,500
• 18 monthly payments of 拢350

When you make your claim

You must claim within 3 months of your partner鈥檚 death to get the one-off payment and all 18 monthly payments.

If it鈥檚 been over 3 months but fewer than 12 months since your partner鈥檚 death, you can get the one-off payment but only some of the monthly payments.

If it鈥檚 been over 12 months but fewer than 21 months since your partner鈥檚 death, you cannot get the one-off payment but you can still get some monthly payments.

If it鈥檚 been over 21 months since your partner鈥檚 death, you usually cannot get any payments.

When you reach State Pension age

If you reach State Pension age within 18 months of your partner鈥檚 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, ) when you start getting Bereavement Support Payment.

You can apply for Bereavement Support Payment online, by telephone or by post.

To apply, you鈥檒l need:

• your National Insurance number
• your bank or building society account details
• the date your partner died
• your partner鈥檚 National Insurance number

Apply online

Apply by phone

Apply by post

To get a claim form, you can either:

• download a Bereavement Support Payment form (BSP1)
• contact the Bereavement Service helpline to get one through the post 鈥� you can find their contact details above

Send it to the address on the form.

If you鈥檙e abroad

Call the International Pension Centre to apply.