Funeral Payment

Last updated December 2004

What is it?
Can I get it?
What else should I know?
How much will I get?
How do I claim?
You can download a Funeral Payment claim form
More information
Other help
Definitions

This benefit is dealt with by Jobcentre Plus.

What is it?

• Help towards the cost of a funeral
• Depends on your circumstances, not those of the person who has died
• One-off payment

Can I get it?

Are you or your partner getting:

• Income Support?
• Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance?
• Pension Credit?
• Housing Benefit?
• Council Tax Benefit?
• Child Tax Credit which includes an amount higher than the family element?
• Working Tax Credit where a disability or severe disability element is included in the award?

If YES to one, claim a Funeral Payment.

(We use partner to mean a person you are married to or a person you are living with as if you are married to them.)

If you have applied for one of these benefits, but do not know if you will get it, you should still apply for a Funeral Payment.

What else should I know?

Funeral Payments are part of the Social Fund.

You can apply any time after the date the person died and up to three months after the date of the funeral.

You must have taken responsibility for the costs of the funeral.

The funeral must usually be in the United Kingdom.

May be affected by any other means of paying for the funeral.

May have to be paid back out of the estate of the person who has died.

How much will I get?

The necessary cost of specified items or services. Plus up to £700 for other funeral expenses.

Contact your Jobcentre Plus office or social security office for more information.

How do I claim?

You can apply any time after the date the person died and up to 3 months after the date of the funeral.

Contact your local office for a claim form. Find your local office on this site or look for the Jobcentre Plus, social security or Pension Service office display advert in the business numbers section of the phone book.

It is important that we can be sure of your identity when you make a claim. We may need to ask you about your background and look at any official documents you have to support the information you give.

You can download a Funeral Payment claim form

You can download a Funeral Payment claim form in PDF format. The form comes with notes that will help you fill it in and tell you where to send the completed form. This form does not apply to Northern Ireland. Please choose from the options below.

Funeral Payment, to fill in the form on screen (1.4mb)

You can download documents marked with a using Adobe Acrobat Reader, available free of charge.

• We recommend that you save this file to your computer hard disk or CD before completing it.
• To save a copy of the file to disk right click with your mouse on the link above and choose the 'Save Target As' option.
• You can not save the form once you have opened it in an internet browser.
• After you have completed the form on screen, you will have to print and sign it.
• If you make another application, please check this site to make sure that you are using an up to date form. 

Funeral Payment, print out a form to fill in with a pen (122k)

If you are having technical difficulties:

• downloading the form
• navigating around the form
• moving from page to page, or
• printing a hard copy

Please contact the eService Helpdesk.

More information

To get more information or leaflets, get in touch with your Jobcentre Plus office, social security office or the Pension Service.

Other help

Income Support
Jobseeker's Allowance
Pension Credit
Child Tax Credit
Working Tax Credit
Council Tax Benefit
Social Fund