£2500 benefit from Government - check if you can get it

General chat
1

A lot of you know already but for those who don’t and live in the UK. If you were married and your partner died and you are below pension age you should be entitled to £2500 lump sum and £100 per month for 18 months from the government. If you have kids then it is £3500 lump sum plus the £100 per month. I am not on benefits normally, this is for everyone if you fulfil their other criteria.

There may be other people eligible for it too and you can read more here: https://www.gov.uk/bereavement-support-payment

For me my situation is I am 40, I (normally) work full time, my husband also worked so had paid National Insurance, we lived together in the same house for 5yrs+ were both British citizens and we were married so it was a clear cut situation. I know it won’t be like that for everyone but it is worth investigating.

I was put off from doing this for a while and had a few failed and frustrating attempts with other phone numbers to start with but finally cracked it last week and now I already have the money today. Here is a short version of the successful steps of what I did:

  1. Wrote down (as i can’t remember anything lately) my NI number and my husbands, this was the most difficult part for me to find, it is on payslips. Got our marriage certificate (although in the end this was not required by anyone to see despite that it says it on the website, the only thing i needed from it was to tell them on the phone where we were married, covid has taken a lot of steps out of this process that used to be there).

Also I needed to know both our birthdays, names, address and death date. Giving them your mobile phone number is handy as they will text you afterwards to confirm your application, i dont know mine always anymore so I wrote that down too. Also you need the bank details for them to pay into. Once I had all this I phoned up.

  1. Phone 0800 731 0469 and press option 2, ,midweek early mornings seem to get through faster but it can take a long time to get through. It’s free phone though so use your mobile and put it on speaker phone in front of you on a desk/table. Along with your notes and a pen, have a drink and tissues ready :slight_smile:

  2. Say you would like to please apply for the Bereavement Support Benefit now over the phone. They will then ask you the questions that you should have answers to prepared above. The lady who dealt with me was fairly patient (of course I cried like I always do lately and she didn’t seem too exasperated). The whole thing took around 15 minutes.

  3. I then got a text confirming my application and that they would let me know within 3 weeks. I heard nothing more.

  4. 8 days later I received £2500 in my bank and £100. I also later received a letter saying they will pay me £100 a month until year after next.

I think I missed £100 that I was entitled to as I was a bit late applying but maybe they will still pay this as I was within the three months cut off (they backdate only three months to the date of death, mine was in October).

I hope this helps someone. Please get what you are entitled to as for me this doesn’t even cover the cost of the funeral but eventually it will. So if you are having a “good” hour sometime and you can get this task done it really is worth it. Good luck!

7 Likes
2

It is even easier to apply online :+1:t3:

2 Likes
3

You’re right, I forgot but initially I wanted to apply online as I much prefer online to phoning (since i cry so much on the phone when they ask me a simple question, it’s quite pathetic and inefficient!!) but for some reason I got obsessed with my marriage certificate (i didn’t want to send it off or even particularly go in the job centre to show it) and I think that is why I phoned up in the end to ask about that and then that lady gave me the other number and I went from there. Even better if it can be done online though thanks a lot as i forgot to mention :blush:

4

Thank you for explaining this, it is something you are entitled to and you should claim it. I went through the process on the telephone, the same as you did, and it was a relatively easy process. I presume the bereavement allowance help desk is very used to listening to the tears of the claimant.
If you haven’t claimed it, please do so

5

I had to do it online Fleur as they wouldn’t have been able to understand the hysterical crying mess over the phone :disappointed_relieved:

1 Like
6

It can be backdated up to 3 months and the monthly payment if there are dependent children is £350. There is information on benefits in General Chat but it’s good to have a detailed experience and it will encourage people to pick up the phone or go online (as I did). It’s also a tax free payment.

2 Likes
8

Dear Fleur-de-lis
This information is so clear consice & helpful. I had seen reference before to help with funeral costs & bereavement benefit but had discounted myself automatically as we both worked all our lives & received no benefits. Now I know it is not based on that or savings or income so I have applied via phone call today, 15 mins it took & I knew all the required info off by (broken) heart. They will text me within 15days with outcome.
My poor husband never reached retirement age, worked all his life, paid his taxes & provided a lovely home & great life for us and our family. This money means nothing really but it’s his by right.
So thank you so much for taking time to care about others, you are so kind.
Maiget

1 Like
9

Thank you Maigret for posting and I’m so glad it helped you. Like you say our partners earned this so I hope all who can do get what they are entitled to.
Take care and wishing you as restful an evening as possible in our situation.

1 Like