Bereavement Support Payment (BSP) is a UK social security benefit for some people whose spouse, civil partner or qualifying cohabiting partner has died. It is not means-tested, so earnings and savings do not decide the award. The claimant must still meet the relationship, age, residence and National Insurance conditions. Use the Bereavement Support Payment Planner to check how a planned claim date falls against the published time windows; the planner does not decide eligibility or calculate an exact award.
Who may qualify
When your partner died, you must usually have been under State Pension age, living in the UK or a country that pays bereavement benefits, and married to your partner, in a civil partnership, or living together as if married. You cannot claim while in prison.
Your partner must usually have paid enough Class 1 or Class 2 National Insurance contributions in at least one tax year since 6 April 1975, or have died because of an accident at work or a disease caused by work. You can still ask the Bereavement Service about a claim if you do not know their National Insurance record; do not treat uncertainty as an automatic rejection.
There is an additional rule for a cohabiting partner. Unless you are applying for a backdated payment, you must generally have been getting Child Benefit for a child who lived with you, have been told you were entitled to Child Benefit for that child, or have been pregnant when your partner died. If your partner was the person receiving or entitled to Child Benefit, GOV.UK says you need to make a new Child Benefit claim in your own name before applying for BSP.
2026/27 payment rates
The maximum standard-rate schedule is a £2,500 lump sum plus 18 monthly payments of £100, or £4,300 if all 18 payments are due. The maximum higher-rate schedule is a £3,500 lump sum plus 18 monthly payments of £350, or £9,800 in total. A married or civil-partner claimant may receive the higher rate where the relevant Child Benefit or pregnancy condition applied. GOV.UK describes the higher schedule for qualifying cohabiting partners too. DWP decides which rate applies.
These totals are maximum schedules, not a prediction for every claim. A claim made late can reduce the number of monthly payments. Reaching State Pension age within 18 months of the death can also mean fewer monthly payments. The planner displays a full schedule only for a claim date within three months and leaves late-claim amounts to DWP rather than guessing a payment count.
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| Claim timing after the death | General payment effect in GOV.UK guidance |
|---|---|
| Within 3 months | Claim in time for the lump sum and all 18 monthly payments, subject to eligibility and the State Pension age rule. |
| More than 3 months but within 12 months | The lump sum may still be available, with fewer monthly payments. |
| More than 12 months but within 21 months | No lump sum is normally available, but some monthly payments may remain. |
| More than 21 months | Usually outside the claim period; contact the Bereavement Service if the cause of death was confirmed only recently. |
The exact calendar dates and any exceptional circumstances matter. If you are close to a deadline, contact the service and submit a claim as soon as possible instead of waiting for a calculator estimate.
How to claim
In Great Britain, GOV.UK provides online, telephone and postal routes. You may need your National Insurance number, your partner’s National Insurance number, the date of death and bank or building society details. If the death was work-related, or the National Insurance record is uncertain, raise that information with the Bereavement Service.
Northern Ireland has a separate claim process. Use nidirect’s Bereavement Support Payment instructions for the current route; do not assume a Great Britain online service or postal address applies. If the cause of death was confirmed only after the usual 21-month period, GOV.UK says you may still be able to claim and should contact the service.
A practical claim-preparation checklist
The official claim pages list information you should have ready. Before starting, gather:
- your National Insurance number;
- your partner’s National Insurance number, if you know it;
- the date your partner died; and
- the bank, building society or credit union account details where payments should be made.
The exact form or online journey may ask for other information. These details are a preparation list, not a promise that no additional evidence will be requested. If you do not know your partner’s National Insurance number, do not invent one or assume the claim is impossible: GOV.UK says the Bereavement Service can tell you whether the contribution condition is met.
If you were living together as if married, collect the details that help explain the relationship and the Child Benefit or pregnancy condition that applied when your partner died. If you are asking about backdating, an industrial accident, a work-related disease, a late-confirmed cause of death or a death outside the UK, contact the relevant service directly. The planner cannot assess these exceptions or cross-border rules.
Before submitting, compare the date you intend to claim with the date of death. The relevant date is the claim date, so downloading or reading a form is not the same as completing the claim. Where the service gives a choice of online, phone or postal routes, check the instructions for your UK nation and keep a copy or note of what you submitted and when.
How to think about the payment timetable
BSP combines an initial payment with monthly payments. Claim timing affects the start and remaining period of the monthly part; the full maximum schedule is not a fixed award for everyone. A useful way to use the date planner is to first check the broad window, then ask the Bereavement Service about the exact payment period if your claim is later than three months or close to a boundary.
For example, someone who plans to claim soon after a recent death can use the planner to see whether the date falls in the full-schedule window. Someone preparing a claim several months later can use it to identify that the lump sum may still be in scope while some monthly payments may be lost. A claim more than a year later may fall into the monthly-only window, and after 21 months it is usually outside the time limit. In the later windows, the planner intentionally does not multiply a guessed number of months by the monthly rate.
The maximum schedule depends on the applicable standard or higher rate. When the rate is not known, compare both published maxima as reference points, not as two likely awards. The higher rate has conditions linked to Child Benefit or pregnancy for married or civil partners; GOV.UK also describes the higher schedule for qualifying cohabiting partners. A person should not select “higher” simply because a child lives in the household. DWP checks the scheme conditions and decides the rate.
The timing screen is also separate from the State Pension age rule. If you reach State Pension age within 18 months of the death, GOV.UK says you may receive fewer monthly payments. The planner can flag that this issue may apply, but it does not calculate the date payments stop. Check your State Pension age and confirm the award period with DWP.
A quick planning sequence
Use the planner in this order:
- Enter the date your partner died, using the date recorded for the claim.
- Enter the date you expect to submit the claim. If you have already applied, use the submitted claim date rather than today’s date.
- If you know which rate may apply, select standard or higher. If you are unsure, compare both maximum schedules as reference amounts only.
- Check whether you may reach State Pension age during the 18-month period, then read the timing result and its limitation before acting.
If the result falls within three months, it identifies the window for the full published schedule; you still need DWP to assess eligibility and rate. If the result is later, use the broad category to understand which part of the schedule may remain and ask the Bereavement Service about the exact award period. A result after 21 months should prompt you to check the late-confirmation exception directly. Keep the dates and rate question separate: being within a payment window does not prove that the claimant meets the scheme conditions.
What the planner can and cannot answer
The Bereavement Support Payment Planner accepts the date of death and a planned claim date, then sorts the result into a broad timing window. For a claim within three months, it shows the standard and/or higher maximum schedule. For later claims it describes the likely payment type without inventing a total. It also asks whether State Pension age may be reached within the 18-month payment period.
It does not ask for household income or savings because BSP is not means-tested. It also does not evaluate the deceased partner’s National Insurance record, work-related death, relationship evidence, cohabiting-partner Child Benefit condition, residence, prison status, backdating, or a late-confirmed cause of death. Those facts can change whether someone qualifies or what the decision says. A date result is not confirmation that a claim is eligible, accepted or complete.
If the death was before 6 April 2017
BSP applies to partner deaths on or after 6 April 2017. If your partner died before that date, GOV.UK says you may be able to get Widowed Parent’s Allowance instead. Do not apply the current BSP amount or deadline table to an older death without checking the benefit rules for that date.
Effect on other benefits
BSP does not affect other benefits for one year after your first payment. After that year, any money left from the lump sum could affect a new claim or renewal for a means-tested benefit. Tell the relevant benefit office when BSP starts and ask how the payment should be treated in your household’s circumstances.
BSP is different from parental bereavement pay
Bereavement Support Payment is a social security benefit for an eligible bereaved partner. Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay is a separate employment payment for eligible employees who lose a child; it has its own service, employer and leave conditions. See the new Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay guide for the employee-side process, including Northern Ireland's 2026 miscarriage extension. The two schemes have different claimants, rules and payment purposes.
If the deceased partner was also the basis of your UK immigration permission, check that separately: the UK Bereaved Partner settlement guide explains the immigration route. A BSP claim and an immigration settlement application have different rules, evidence and decision-makers.