Bereavement Support Payment 2026/27: Rates, Eligibility and How to Claim

BSP is a payment from the Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) for people whose spouse or civil partner has died. Since February 2023, it has also been available to eligible cohabiting partners who have a dependent child.

There are two rates: a higher rate (for people who have or are expecting children) and a standard rate (for people who don't).

Higher rate (up to £9,800)

• One-off lump sum: £3,500
• Up to 18 monthly payments of £350
• Maximum total: £9,800

Standard rate (up to £4,300)

• One-off lump sum: £2,500
• Up to 18 monthly payments of £100
• Maximum total: £4,300

Eligible cohabiting partners with a dependent child receive the higher rate. Cohabiting partners without a dependent child are not eligible.

Monthly payments are paid into your bank account on the same day each month. BSP is not taxable. It does not count as income for means-tested benefits such as Universal Credit, Housing Benefit, or income-based ESA for the first 12 months after your first payment. After that, any money still left over from the first payment can be treated as savings and may affect a benefit claim or renewal. You must tell your benefits office when you start receiving BSP. BSP is separate from Funeral Expenses Payment, which helps with funeral costs if you're on qualifying benefits.

You can claim BSP if all of the following apply:

• Your spouse or civil partner has died, or you were a cohabiting partner of the deceased and have a dependent child (this extension came into effect in February 2023; cohabiting partners without a dependent child remain ineligible).
• You were under State Pension age on the day they died (or are still under it).
• You normally live in the UK (or another country that has a relevant social security agreement with the UK).
• Your partner met the National Insurance condition (see below) or died because of an accident at work or a disease caused by their work.

State Pension age is currently 66 and is rising to 67 between May 2026 and April 2028. If you were at or above State Pension age on the day your partner died, you cannot claim BSP, but you may want to check your State Pension entitlement instead.

BSP applies to deaths from 6 April 2017 onwards. If your partner died before that date, an older system (Bereavement Allowance, Bereavement Payment, or Widowed Parent's Allowance) may have applied. The DWP can confirm what is available in your situation.

The official rule is that your deceased partner must have paid Class 1 or Class 2 National Insurance contributions in any one tax year since 6 April 1975, or have died because of an accident at work or a disease caused by their work. There is no fixed minimum number of weeks.

In practice, this almost always means:

• They were employed at some point and their employer took National Insurance from their salary (Class 1), or
• They were self-employed and paid Class 2 contributions through Self Assessment, or
• They died because of a workplace accident or a recognised work-caused illness, in which case the NI condition is treated as met.

If your partner never worked in the UK or has no NI record at all, they may not meet the condition. The accident-at-work or disease route can still apply even where contributions were limited.

You don't need to prove this yourself. The DWP checks the National Insurance record when you apply. If you want to confirm in advance, you can:

1. Call HMRC on 0300 200 3500 and ask for a National Insurance record summary.
2. Check online at gov.uk/check-national-insurance-record (you need a Government Gateway login).
3. Write to: National Insurance Contributions Office, HM Revenue & Customs, BX9 1AA.

Postal requests take 4–6 weeks. The DWP's own check is normally faster, so applying first and letting them check is usually the quickest route.

BSP rewards prompt claims, and the amount you receive depends on when you apply.

Within 3 months of the death: full amount

Apply within 3 months of the death (or, if there was a delay registering or confirming the death, within 3 months of the date you could reasonably claim). You receive the lump sum and all 18 monthly payments.

Between 3 and 12 months: reduced amount

You can still claim, but you may lose some of the monthly payments for the months that have already passed. The lump sum is still paid in full at this point.

Between 12 and 21 months: no lump sum, fewer monthly payments

After 12 months you typically lose the lump sum. You can still receive monthly payments for the time still remaining within the 18-month window.

After 21 months: usually too late, but check

You usually need to claim within 21 months of the death. If the cause of death was only recently confirmed (for example, after an inquest or a delayed medical report), you may still be able to claim outside that window. If you're unsure, contact the Bereavement Service on 0800 151 2012 (or 0800 085 2463 in Northern Ireland) before assuming you've missed out.

The takeaway: apply as early as you reasonably can. Many people only learn about BSP after Probate work begins, which can be months in. If that describes you, apply now rather than wait, even if you think it's late.

Online

Apply at gov.uk/bereavement-support-payment. The online claim is available in Great Britain (England, Scotland, Wales). Northern Ireland has a separate process; see below.

By phone (Great Britain)

Phone the DWP Bereavement Service on 0800 151 2012, Monday to Friday 8am–6pm. The agent can take your claim over the phone.

By phone (Northern Ireland)

Phone the Bereavement Service for Northern Ireland on 0800 085 2463. Northern Ireland uses a separate route through the Department for Communities (DfC).

By post

Download the BSP1 paper claim form from gov.uk/government/publications/bereavement-support-payment-claim-form, complete it, and send it to:

Bereavement Support Payment, Mail Handling Site A, Wolverhampton, WV98 2BS.

You can also hand the completed form in at a Jobcentre Plus office. Postal claims take longer than phone or online claims.

The BSP1 form and the phone application ask for:

• Your name, address, and National Insurance number.
• Your bank or building society details so the DWP can pay you.
• The date your partner died and their National Insurance number (if you know it; the DWP will search if you don't).
• Your relationship to them (married, in a civil partnership, or cohabiting with a dependent child).
• Your marriage or civil partnership certificate, if you have one. Cohabiting claimants do not need a marriage certificate but will be asked to confirm the dependent child position.
• Whether, on the day your partner died, you were getting Child Benefit, had been told you were entitled to it, or were pregnant. This determines whether you qualify for the higher rate.
• Whether your partner was employed, self-employed, or died as a result of an accident at work or a work-related disease.

You don't generally need to send a passport, driving licence, or proof of address with the claim. If the DWP needs anything extra to verify your identity or relationship, they'll ask for it.

Self-employed people pay National Insurance through Self Assessment (Class 2 contributions, and Class 4 on profits above the threshold). The DWP checks the National Insurance record with HMRC, which can take a little longer than for employees but is handled automatically. You don't need to do anything extra.

If your partner died as a result of an accident at work or a recognised work-related disease, the National Insurance condition is treated as met regardless of contributions.

You qualify for the higher rate if, on the day your partner died, any of the following applied:

• You were getting Child Benefit.
• You had been told you were entitled to Child Benefit (whether or not you had started receiving it).
• You were pregnant, or you were pregnant on the date your partner died and gave birth afterwards.

You don't need to be the biological parent of the child. The test is whether the Child Benefit position above applied at the date of death. The BSP1 form asks specifically about this.

If none of these applied on the day your partner died, you receive the standard rate, even if your circumstances change later.

For eligible cohabiting partners, having a dependent child is also the eligibility test, so cohabiting claimants who qualify always receive the higher rate.

The DWP says it will write to you as soon as possible after receiving your claim and pay you as soon as it can. It does not publish a fixed timetable. Phone and online claims are typically faster than postal claims because there is no document handling delay.

Once your claim is approved, the lump sum is paid into your bank account first. Monthly payments then follow on the same day each month for up to 18 months.

If there's an issue, for example the DWP needs more information about the National Insurance record, you'll be contacted. Respond promptly to keep the claim moving.

BSP does not count as income for means-tested benefits, including Universal Credit, Housing Benefit, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support, and Pension Credit, for the first 12 months after your first BSP payment.

After 12 months, any money still left over from that first payment can be treated as savings or capital when you next make a claim or have a benefit reviewed. Money that has already been spent before 12 months is not affected.

You should still tell the office that pays your benefits when your BSP starts, even though it won't reduce what you receive in the first year. Different benefit teams do not always update each other automatically.

Child Benefit is not affected by BSP.

Common reasons for rejection:

• Your partner didn't pay enough National Insurance contributions
• The death certificate doesn't match the records
• You weren't married, in a civil partnership, or a cohabiting partner with a dependent child at the time of death
• You'd already claimed BSP for a previous partner and haven't finished the 18-month period

If you're rejected, you get a decision letter explaining why. You have one month to ask for a reconsideration (called a “mandatory reconsideration”).

To challenge the decision:

1. Write to the address on the decision letter within one month
2. Explain why you think they got it wrong
3. Include any new evidence

If you're still rejected, you can appeal to the Appeals Tribunal. This is where you might want a solicitor or a Citizens Advice adviser. It's free to get help from Citizens Advice.

If your partner died more than 21 months ago, you usually cannot claim BSP. But there are situations where it is still worth contacting the Bereavement Service before assuming it is too late:

• The cause of death was only recently confirmed. If an inquest, post-mortem, or medical investigation delayed confirmation of how your partner died, GOV.UK confirms you may still be able to claim outside the usual window.
• You believe the 21 months has been miscalculated (for example, the DWP has the wrong date of death on file).
• Your partner was in the armed forces. Different schemes apply, including the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme.

Phone 0800 151 2012 (Great Britain) or 0800 085 2463 (Northern Ireland) and explain the situation. If they confirm you cannot claim, you can ask Citizens Advice for free help reviewing your options.

If you're already getting BSP and you move abroad, you can usually keep receiving it wherever you move. In some countries, particularly those with a relevant social security agreement with the UK, you may even be able to make a new claim from abroad.

The full rules vary by country. If you're considering moving or living abroad, check gov.uk/claim-benefits-abroad/bereavement-benefits or contact the DWP's International Pension Centre before assuming your payments will stop.

The lump sum is yours to keep. You can use it for anything: funeral costs, debts, bills, rent, savings, whatever.

The monthly payments stop after 18 months. They don't change if you get a pay rise, if you move house, if you get a job, or if you save money. They're just there for 18 months.

After 18 months, they stop. There's no extension. If you still need financial support, you might qualify for other benefits (Universal Credit, Housing Benefit, etc.). But those are different systems with different rules. You should also check whether the deceased had a pension with survivor benefits or a life insurance policy that could provide additional financial support.

These related guides may also help:

• Funeral Expenses Payment: DWP help with funeral costs if you're on qualifying benefits
• Stopping Benefits After a Death: which benefits stop and how DWP claws back overpayments
• Pensions After a Death: State Pension, workplace pensions, and tracing lost pensions