Thousands will be entitled to £10K if major rule change is confirmed with DWP support payment

Thousands of families could now be eligible for Bereaved Support Payments adding up to nearly £10,000 due to a significant rule change that is expected to be introduced later this year.

The current rule means that if your husband, wife or civil partner has died in the last 21 months you will be entitled to the support but the change will see 21,000 households eligible for a retrospective paymentand 1,800 families eligible for payments in the future, as per the BBC.

Backdated payments

The new rule is expected to come into force later this year, subject to final Parliamentary approval, and will extend to couples who live together and have children but who aren’t married.

It will also mean that many will be eligible for backdated payments of up to £9,800 if they lost their partner before the law was changed. It is expected that thousands of families who were previously denied the support payments from August 30, 2018 will now be able to claim - the date on which theSupreme Court ruled that it was against human rights law to deny such payments to unmarried parents.

The Minister for Work and Pensions, Viscount Younger of Leckie commented on his support for the new ruling, as per The Mirror:

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.

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How it works

The Bereavement Support Payment is worth up to £3,500, plus £350 a month for 18 months for those eligible. The payment is split into two rates and if you receive child support benefits you will get the higher rate, as per Gov.uk:

Higher rate

• First payment - £3,500
• Monthly payments - £350

Lower rate

• First payment - £2,500
• Monthly payments - £100

But in order to receive the full amount, you must claim within the first three months of your partner's death.

Your partner

You could be eligible if your partner either:

• paid National Insurance contributions for at least 25 weeks in one tax year since 6 April 1975
• died because of an accident at work or a disease caused by work

When they died you must have been:

• under State Pension age
• living in the UK or a country that pays bereavement benefits

You may still be able to claim Bereavement Support Payment if your husband, wife or civil partner’s cause of death was confirmed more than 21 months after the death - call the helpline for further information. Furthermore, if your husband, wife or civil partner died before 6 April 2017, you may be able to get Widowed Parent’s Allowance instead.

You can apply for Bereavement Support Payment online, by telephone or by post.

Sources used:

- BBC ''Relief and delight' over bereavement benefit change'

- The Mirror 'DWP rule change could see thousands of bereaved families get £10,000 payment'

- Gov.uk 'Bereavement Support Payment'