Bereavement Support Payment Northern Ireland

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About the Bereavement Support Payment

If you are under state pension age and your partner has died, you may also be eligible for the Bereavement Support Payment. Eligibility varies depending on whether you were married/civil partnered or living together as if you were partners.

Bereavement Support Payment is not means-tested. This means that your income and any savings you have will not affect what you get.

Eligibility for married or civil partnered couples

When your spouse or civil partner died you must have been:

Under state pension age
Living in the UK or another country that pays bereavement benefits
Married to, or in a Civil Partnership with the person who has died

Your spouse or civil partner must have either:

Paid a National Insurance contributions for at least 25 weeks of any one tax year since 6^th April 1975 (An exception applies if the person who has died had been unable to work in their life due to disability)
Died because of an accident at work or a disease caused by work

Eligibility for cohabiting partners

When your partner died you must have been:

Under state pension age
Living in the UK or another country that pays bereavement benefits
Living with your partner as if you were married

One of the following must also have applied when your partner died:

You were getting child benefit for a child that was living with you both
You were told by the child benefit office that you were eligible for child benefit, even if you chose not to claim it
You were pregnant

Your partner must have either:

Paid a National Insurance contributions for at least 26 weeks of any one tax year since 6^th April 1975 (An exception applies if the person who has died had been unable to work in their life due to disability)
Died because of an accident at work or a disease cause by work

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How much will I get?

If you were claiming, or eligible for, child benefit for a child that lived with you when your partner died, or were pregnant, you’ll be eligible for the higher rate. The most you will receive is:

A one-off payment of £3,500
Up to 18 monthly payments of £350

If you’re not eligible for the higher rate, the most you will receive is:

A one-off payment of £2,500
Up to 18 monthly payments of £100

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Things that might affect your payments:

You must claim within 3 months of your partner’s death to get the one-off payment and all 18 monthly payments.
If it’s been over 3 months but fewer than 12 months since your partner’s death, you can get the one-off payment but only some of the monthly payments.
If it’s been over 12 months but fewer than 21 months since your partner’s death, you cannot get the one-off payment but you can still get some monthly payments.
If it’s been over 21 months since your partner’s death, you usually cannot get any payments.
If you reach State Pension age within 18 months of your partner’s death, you may get fewer monthly payments.

Will the payments affect my 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, by reporting a change of circumstances on your Universal Credit journal) when you start getting Bereavement Support Payment.

How to claim

You’ll need the following information to make a claim for the Bereavement Support Payment:

your National Insurance number
your bank or building society account details
the date your partner died
your partner’s National Insurance number

To apply online, or to see other ways to claim, click below.

CLAIM BEREAVEMENT SUPPORT PAYMENT

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Bereavement support payment

Full information about government support available following a bereavement can be found in our guides. This includes the Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payment (for England, Wales and Northern Ireland), the Funeral Support Payment (for Scotland) and the Bereavement Support Payment.

Am I entitled to a Bereavement Support Payment?

You may be able to get a Bereavement Support Payment if you are under state pension age when your partner dies, if they have paid at least 25 weeks of National Insurance contributions in any one tax year since 6 April 1975, or if they have died because of an accident at work or a disease caused by work. In Northern Ireland, the rule about National Insurance contributions is relaxed if the person who has died was unable to work throughout their working life due to disability.

If you don’t have dependent children, you would need to have been married to, or in a civil partnership with, the person who has died.

If you were getting Child Benefit or were entitled to it for a child/children, or were pregnant, you can also get a payment if you were living together as if you were married.

You usually need to make a claim within 3 months of your partner’s death to get the full amount of payments.

How much will I get from the Bereavement Support Payment?

If you were getting Child Benefit, were entitled to it for a child/children, or were pregnant when your spouse or cohabiting partner died you will receive a one-off payment of £3,500 followed by up to 18 monthly payments of £350.

If you were not getting Child Benefit, and were not eligible to claim it, and were not pregnant when your spouse died you will receive a one-off payment of £2,500 followed by up to 18 monthly payments of £100.

You must claim within 3 months of your partner’s death to get the full payments. If you claim more than 3 months after your partner’s death you will receive less. If it has been more than 21 months since your partner’s death, you usually cannot get any payments.

If you reach State Pension age within 18 months of your partner’s death, you may get fewer monthly payments.

How do I claim Bereavement Support Payment?

You can phone the Department for Work and Pensions on 0800 151 2012. You can also apply online or fill in a paper form and post it. For textphone, or video relay service for users of British Sign Language, visit the DWP’s website.