Bereavement Support Payment 2026: rates and deadlines

What you get in 2026/27

Bereavement Support Payment is paid at one of two rates, and the rate you receive depends on your circumstances at the time of your partner's death rather than on your income or savings. The higher rate is a 3,500 pound first payment followed by up to 18 monthly payments of 350 pounds, a maximum of 9,800 pounds. The standard rate is a 2,500 pound first payment followed by up to 18 monthly payments of 100 pounds, a maximum of 4,300 pounds. You get the higher rate if you were entitled to Child Benefit when your partner died, or if you were pregnant at the time of the death. Everyone else who qualifies receives the standard rate.

In its response to a parliamentary petition, DWP said that following this year's review it is proposed that Bereavement Support Payment will stay at the current rate for 2026/27, and that BSP is reviewed each year on a discretionary basis rather than uprated automatically. That means the figures above are the ones to plan around for the coming year, and you should not assume an inflation-linked increase will arrive automatically. Bereavement Support Payment replaced Widowed Parent's Allowance and the earlier bereavement benefits for deaths on or after 6 April 2017, so if your partner died before that date you are looking at a different, older scheme rather than this one.

The claim deadline, and what lateness costs

The single most expensive mistake people make is assuming there is no deadline, or that a late claim simply means a slower payment. To receive the full amount a claim must be made within 3 months of the death. Claims can be made up to 21 months after the death, with each month of delay past 3 months reducing the number of monthly payments. The Bereavement Support Payment Regulations 2017 provide that the payment period lasts a maximum of 18 months beginning with the day after the date of death, and that the first higher or standard payment is only payable where the person claims 12 months or less after the date of death.

Read as a sequence, the rules work like this. Claim within 3 months and you receive the first payment plus the full run of monthly payments. Claim between 3 and 12 months and you still receive the lump sum, but fewer monthly payments, because the 18 month payment window is counted from the day after the death rather than from the date of your claim. Claim after 12 months and there is no lump sum at all, only whatever remains of the monthly payment window. Claim after 21 months and there is nothing at all. The later you claim, the more of the total you lose, and the loss is permanent.

Who can claim

You can claim if you were married to or in a civil partnership with the person who died, or if you were cohabiting with them and responsible for a child, which is covered in the next section. You must have been under State Pension age on the date your partner died. People over State Pension age at the date of death cannot claim, even if they were working, even if they had not yet drawn a pension, and even if the death was sudden. This is a hard rule based on age at the date of death, not age at the date of claim.

The deceased partner must have paid National Insurance contributions for at least 25 weeks in any one tax year, or have died as a result of an industrial accident or disease. The industrial accident or disease route matters because it can open the door where the contribution record is short. If you are unsure whether your partner's record meets the 25 week test, it is worth checking rather than assuming it does not, because a gap in the record is one of the reasons people talk themselves out of claiming when they may in fact qualify.

The cohabiting partner rules most people have not heard about

Since 9 February 2023, cohabiting partners who were not married or in a civil partnership can claim where they were living with the person who died and were responsible for a child. This followed the McLaughlin and Jackson rulings and applies to deaths on or after 30 August 2018. Before that change, an unmarried partner was typically told they had no entitlement at all, regardless of how long the relationship had lasted or whether there were children in the household.

The retrospective element is the part that catches people out. Because the change reaches back to deaths on or after 30 August 2018, some people who were wrongly told they did not qualify may still be able to claim. If you were refused, or if you were advised not to bother applying, on the basis that you were not married, that advice may now be wrong for your circumstances. The deadline rules still apply, so the passage of time matters, but the existence of the retrospective window means a refusal from several years ago is not necessarily the end of the matter.

Tax, benefits and what it does not affect

Bereavement Support Payment is tax-free and is not means-tested. You do not pay income tax on it, and you do not lose it because you have savings, a salary, a private pension or other income. That combination is unusual among working age benefits and it is worth being clear about, because people often delay claiming while they work out whether a payout would be clawed back or taxed. It is not.

Where it does interact is with means-tested benefits. Because Bereavement Support Payment is not means-tested itself, it is not counted as income for the purpose of deciding whether you qualify for Universal Credit, but the capital it builds up can affect Universal Credit through the capital rules once it sits in your account. The practical point is that the timing of the lump sum can matter for a Universal Credit award, so it is worth telling your work coach or adviser that a Bereavement Support Payment is due. Other benefits you receive are not automatically stopped by a successful claim.

How to claim and what you need

There are three routes to claim. You can claim online, you can claim by phone, and you can claim by post using the paper form. Whichever route you use, you will need the date of death, your partner's National Insurance number, your own National Insurance number, your bank or building society details, and information about any children, including Child Benefit details if you are claiming the higher rate. Having these to hand before you start avoids a stop-start application that eats into the 3 month window.

After you claim, the first payment and the monthly payments are made into your account, and you should keep the decision letter because it sets out the rate, the start date and the number of monthly payments you have been awarded. If you are dealing with the wider administration of an estate at the same time, the KT bereavement checklist and the KT probate guides walk through the parallel tasks, so the benefit claim does not get lost among them. The claim itself is short, and the deadline is the part that does the damage if it is missed.

Related coverage on Kael Tripton: What to do when someone dies: the money and admin checklist, What to Do When Someone Dies UK 2026 - Complete Checklist, Writing life insurance in trust: how it avoids inheritance tax and probate delays, How Much Does It Cost to Contest Probate in the UK?, Free Wills Month: who qualifies, what is free and what is not.

Frequently asked questions

How much is Bereavement Support Payment in 2026/27?

The higher rate is a 3,500 pound first payment followed by up to 18 monthly payments of 350 pounds, a maximum of 9,800 pounds. The standard rate is a 2,500 pound first payment followed by up to 18 monthly payments of 100 pounds, a maximum of 4,300 pounds. DWP said that following this year's review it is proposed that Bereavement Support Payment will stay at the current rate for 2026/27.

What happens if you claim late?

To receive the full amount a claim must be made within 3 months of the death. Claims can be made up to 21 months after the death, with each month of delay past 3 months reducing the number of monthly payments. After 12 months there is no lump sum, and after 21 months there is nothing at all.

Can you claim if you were not married or in a civil partnership?

Since 9 February 2023, cohabiting partners who were not married or in a civil partnership can claim where they were living with the person who died and were responsible for a child. This followed the McLaughlin and Jackson rulings and applies to deaths on or after 30 August 2018, so some people who were wrongly told they did not qualify may still be able to claim.

Is Bereavement Support Payment taxed or means-tested?

No. Bereavement Support Payment is tax-free and is not means-tested. It is not counted as income for the purpose of deciding whether you qualify for Universal Credit, although the capital it builds up can affect Universal Credit through the capital rules.

Who cannot claim Bereavement Support Payment?

People over State Pension age at the date of death cannot claim. A claimant must have been under State Pension age on the date their partner died. The deceased partner must also have paid National Insurance contributions for at least 25 weeks in any one tax year, or have died as a result of an industrial accident or disease.