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Bereavement Payment: DWP Death Grant

This guide explains how to claim the £2,000 non taxable Bereavement Payment. It is the DWP death benefit for those bereaved by the loss of a spouse or civil partner.

BEREAVEMENT PAYMENT: To qualify, your spouse or civil partner must have died 'before' the 6th of April in the year 2017.

Note: The new Bereavement Support Payment has replaced most claims for this type of benefit. It now applies when the death occurs from the 6th of April 2017 onwards.

This information clarifies how to claim the Bereavement Payment benefit. Recipients would make their claim using the DWP BB1 Form.

Check to see if you are eligible to get this single lump sum and tax-free remittance of £2,000.

Bereavement Payment Eligibility Criteria

You can only get the Bereavement Payment if at the time your spousal or civil partner died you were either:

  1. Below the State Pension age.
  2. Above the State Pension age but your spouse or partner did not qualify for a State Pension due to their NIC.

Beside this, your spouse or civil partner must either have:

  1. Paid adequate National Insurance contributions.
  2. Died because of an industrial accident or a disease from work.

Bereavement Payment Qualifying Conditions

You are not eligible to claim for the Bereavement Payment if you:

  1. Are serving time in prison.
  2. Were divorced from your husband, wife or civil partner.
  3. Are living with another person as husband, wife, or civil partner.

But, there are other bereavement benefits which you may have entitlement for such as:

  1. The Bereavement Allowance (previously called the Widow's Pension).
  2. The Widowed Parent's Allowance for those bringing up children.

Note: There is no need to apply more than once. Initial applications get considered for all relevant bereavement benefits.

Claim Bereavement Payment from Abroad

Contact the International Pension Centre to find out whether you can claim. But you must include your National Insurance number, full name, and your date of birth.

Death Benefits and the DWP Bereavement PaymentBereavement and Widows' Benefits
Telephone: +44 191 21 87608
Check UK phone call charges.
Department for Work and Pensions
Bereavement and Widows' Benefits
International Pension Centre
Tyneview Park
Newcastle-upon-Tyne
NE98 1BA

How to Claim Bereavement Payment

You can either make an application by telephone or you can use a form.

Apply for Bereavement Payment by Form

Download the Bereavement benefits claim form BB1 with guidance notes. You can also order it by phone from Jobcentre Plus. Fill in the BB1 claim form and deliver it to Jobcentre Plus or mail it to:

Dover Benefit Centre
Post Handling Site B
Wolverhampton
WV99 1LA

Note: Once the office gets the application form the maximum time the claim can get backdated is three (3) months.

Apply for Bereavement Payment by Phone

Bereavement Service Helpline
Telephone: 0800 731 0469
Welsh language: 0800 731 0453

Textphone: 0800 731 0464
Welsh language: 0800 731 0456

Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm

DWP Bereavement Benefit Payment Deadline

Claims for Bereavement Payment can take place up to 12 months after your husband, wife or civil partner dies. But, if you are claiming for the Widowed Parent's Allowance or Bereavement Allowance you should claim within three (3) months.

Note: Bereavement Payments get paid into a bank account (or similar). Law changes on appeals mean you must usually ask for 'mandatory reconsideration' first. You can then appeal to the Social Security and Child Support Tribunal if you disagree with a decision.

Bereavement Payment affect on Benefits

Bereavement Payment may affect your usual entitlement to some benefits. Contact the JobCentre Plus adviser to check how it might affect your claim for:

How to Claim Bereavement Payment: DWP Death Benefit Form BB1