Could you be entitled to a Bereavement Support payment?

Following a successful debate in the House of Commons on 24 January 2023, bereaved working age parents who were not married or in civil partnerships may be entitled to a backdated payment.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is in the final stages of extending the Bereavement Support Payment to working age parents regardless of whether they were married or in a civil partnership at the time of their partners death.

This decision is currently subject to a final Parliamentary approval, however once this takes place, it is expected that an application window will open early 2023 to allow more parents to claim. There will be an opportunity for those people, whose partner died before the law is changed, to make a claim for a backdated payment.

Minister for Work and Pensions Viscount Younger of Leckie said:

I am pleased to see this important change is nearing its very final steps to becoming law, so more bereaved parents can access this support.

You can read more about what financial help to pay for a funeral you may be entitled to in our previous blog Help to pay for a funeral if you get certain benefits or tax credits

We are pleased that co-habiting parents will now be entitled to the same support as those who are married, if one of them should sadly die. Families come in many shapes and sizes in this day and age and we don't believe not being married should be a barrier to supporting your children if you lose a partner.

More details on how to claim and the period of the claim application window will be published in due course by the DWP. We will share the updated guidance once it is made available.