NP45 - A guide to Bereavement Benefits

Men and women widowed on or after 9 April 2001 or men and women who become surviving civil partners on or after 5 December 2005

You may be able to get Bereavement Payment and either

• Widowed Parent‘s Allowance
• or Bereavement Allowance.

For these bereavement benefits your husband, wife or civil partner must have paid National Insurance (NI) contributions. Contributions paid by you do not count for these benefits.

You may be able to get these benefits at the full rate if:

• your husband, wife or civil partner died because of an accident at work or from a prescribed industrial disease
• and they did not have a full NI contribution record

Bereavement Payment

Bereavement Payment is a single lump sum payment payable immediately on bereavement. It is tax free and based on NI contributions. [Legislation (4)]

Who can get Bereavement Payment

You can get Bereavement Payment if your husband, wife or civil partner had met the NI contribution conditions or their death was caused by their job and either:

• you were under state pension age when they died
• or your husband, wife or civil partner was not entitled to Category A state Retirement Benefit when they died.

Who cannot get Bereavement Payment

You cannot get Bereavement Payment:

• if you were divorced from your husband or wife or you civil partnership has been dissolved.
• or if you were living with someone else as if you were living with someone else as if you were married to them or in a civil partnership with them at the time of your partner's death.[Legislation (5)]
• or while you were in prison or held in legal custody [Legislation (6)]

How to claim Bereavement Payment

You make one claim to cover all bereavement benefits. Use the BB1 claim pack. You can get this from your Jobcentre Plus office, Jobcentre or social security office. See for details of how you will be paid.

How much you get

Bereavement Payment is £2,000.

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