NP45 - A guide to Bereavement Benefits

Deductions from allowance

In some situations a deduction may be made from your bereavement benefits/widow’s benefits before you receive it. This may be done when you have to pay back benefit because:

• you were overpaid
• or a payment was made to you as a Social Fund loan.

Recovery of overpayments

If you have been paid too much bereavement benefits/widow’s benefits and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) decides that it is recoverable, you will have to repay it. You can do this by paying a lump sum or by weekly deductions from your allowance or, if you do not receive any allowance or any other benefits, by instalments. [Legislation (100)]

You can dispute/appeal against the decision if you disagree with any of the following:

• that there has been an overpayment
• the amount of the overpayment
• that the DWP has a right to recover the overpayment.

If you have been overpaid some other benefit and the Decision Makers have decided that it is recoverable, it can be recovered from your bereavement benefits/widow’s benefits by weekly deductions if recovery cannot be made from the other benefit because, for example, you no longer get it.

(These rules apply to other social security benefits as well as bereavement benefits.)

Recovery of loans from the Social Fund

If you receive a loan from the Social Fund (or one is already outstanding) it may be recovered from your allowance. [Legislation (101)]

For further information about the Social Fund see leaflet SB16 A guide to the Social Fund.

Annual increase in allowance

By law, the amounts that make up your allowance are:

• reviewed once a year
• and when necessary, increased in line with the inflation rate so as to maintain their value. [Legislation (102)]

Rates of benefit are published by way of the Social Security Uprating Order which is approved by Parliament each year.

The increase takes effect in April at the beginning of each financial year.

If your husband wife or civil partner was a member of a contracted-out pension scheme or a personal pension scheme used in place of SERPS from 6 April 1978 to 5 April 1997 see 'Protection against inflation' section in leaflet NP46. You can get this leaflet at your local office or from the DWP website at www.dwp.gov.uk.

Details of the rates of all social security benefits, including noncontributory benefits, are available in leaflet GL23 Social security benefit rates.

Christmas Bonus

A tax-free bonus is paid with your Widowed Mother’s Allowance, Widowed Parent’s Allowance and Widow’s Pension shortly before Christmas each year. The amount is announced in advance and is also shown in leaflet GL23 Social security benefit rates. [Legislation (103)]

The bonus is usually paid automatically with your normal benefit payment.

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