Home › Rules › Employment › Benefits › Death › Funeral Costs
Funeral Expenses Payment DWP
The social fund funeral payment helps claimants who are on a low income during a time of loss. It can cover the cost of arranging a funeral for the deceased person.
Important: The Funeral Support Payment has replaced the Funeral Expenses Payment for people who live in Scotland.
DWP FUNERAL PAYMENT: This death benefit comes from the DWP Social Fund.
Funeral Payment eligibility, and how you make a claim to cover the cost of a funeral, is dependent on your financial circumstances.
The relationship status that you had with the person who passed away may also affect your claim.
DWP usually exclude personal savings from the eligibility criteria. But, they can include money from the deceased person's estate (if there is one).
They may use it towards repaying part, or all, of the Funeral Payment assistance awarded to you. As a rule, the estate of a deceased person includes any property or savings they had.
But, it does not apply to a house or any personal assets left to the widow or widower (or surviving civil partner).
DWP Funeral Payment How Much Will I Get?
The amount awarded for Social Fund Funeral Payments DWP depends on several of your personal circumstances.
If awarded, the financial support you get can help you to pay for:
- The burial fees as well as exclusive rights to burial in a particular plot.
- Fees for cremation (including the cost of the doctor's certificate).
- Up to £700 worth of funeral expenses if the person died before the 8th of April 2020.
- Up to £1,000 if the person died since the 8th of April 2020 (e.g. coffin, flowers, funeral director fees).
- Travel costs for arranging or going to the funeral.
- The costs for moving the body within the United Kingdom (for the part of the journey over 50 miles).
What happens in cases where the deceased person had a pre-paid funeral plan or insurance policy? You can only receive monetary help (up to £120) for items which are not covered by the funeral plan.
The official reference section of the DWP Funeral Payment Claim Form SF200 lists all the items and inclusions.
How Social Fund Funeral Payment Assistance Gets Paid
The UK funeral grant from the Social Fund often goes directly to the funeral director. This happens if their costs are still outstanding (not paid). The money gets paid into your secure bank or building society account if the fees are already settled.
Social Fund Funeral Payment Eligibility Criteria
To qualify for a DWP Funeral Payment from the social fund you must be the person who is responsible for the funeral and:
- Be getting certain benefits or tax credits.
- Meet the rules on your relationship with the deceased person.
- Arrange the funeral within 3 months in the United Kingdom, the EEA, or Switzerland.
Relationship Rules with the Deceased Person
The DWP Funeral Payment rules about your relationship with the deceased person state you must be one of the following:
- The partner of the deceased when they died.
- A close relative or close friend of the deceased (and reasonable for you to accept responsibility for the funeral costs).
- The parent of a baby stillborn after 24 weeks of pregnancy.
- The parent of the deceased child, or have been responsible for the deceased child, if they were under 16 (or under 20 and not in full-time education).
Note: You should contact the Social Fund to check your eligibility if the funeral will take place in Switzerland or the EEA.
Social Fund
Telephone: 0800 169 0140
Textphone: 0800 169 0286
Relay UK (if you cannot hear or speak on the phone): 18001 then 0800 169 0140
Welsh language: 0800 169 0240
Monday to Friday: 8am to 6pm
You must be responsible for the child and the 'absent parent' must get a qualifying benefit in circumstances where the parent is absent. In this case the term 'partner' means either a:
- Person you have married (or a person you live with as married to them).
- Civil partner or person you live with as if you are civil partners.
Your Benefits and Tax Credits
You (or your partner) must be getting one of these benefits or allowances:
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- Child Tax Credit
- Income Support
- Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
- Housing Benefit
- Universal Credit
- Pension Credit
- Working Tax Credit (if it includes a disability or severe disability element)
Note: Getting a Support for Mortgage Interest loan means you may still qualify. The total amount depends on whether there is other money available (e.g. from the estate of the deceased or an insurance policy).
Social Fund Funeral Payments DWP Ineligibility
It is unlikely you will get a funeral grant from the social fund as a close relative or close friend of the deceased, if any of these situations apply to you:
- The deceased had a partner when they died.
- There is a parent, son or daughter (close relative) of the deceased not awarded one of the qualifying benefits or was not estranged from the deceased. This does not include family members who are:
- Aged under 18 or qualifying young people for the purposes of Child Benefit.
- Full-time students.
- Members of religious orders.
- In prison or in hospital (awarded a qualifying benefit immediately before they went to prison or hospital).
- Asylum seekers supported by the National Asylum Support Service.
- Family members not normally resident in the United Kingdom.
- There is a close relative of the deceased, other than a close relative in one of the excluded groups listed above, who was in closer contact with the deceased than you were, or had equally close contact and is not getting a qualifying benefit.
You may get help with funeral costs in other ways even if you do not qualify for a Funeral Payment (e.g. help to cover the cost of a funeral). You may be able to use money from the bank account of the person who died, for example.
DWP Funeral Payment Form and Contact Number
You should use the DWP Funeral Payment SF200 Form. You can also apply by telephone. There is a claims time limit and you must claim within three months of the funeral. Different procedures apply if you live in Northern Ireland.
Go ahead and make your claim even if you are still waiting for a decision on a qualifying benefit. The same applies even before the funeral takes place if you are in possession of the invoice from the funeral director. Estimates are not accepted - as a rule.
Filling in the Funeral Grant Form
Print out the Funeral Payment SF200 claim form and take it to your local Jobcentre Plus. You can also mail the funeral benefit claim form without charge to 'Freepost DWP Funeral Payments'. There is no need to apply a stamp or write a postcode on the envelope.
Apply by Telephone
When you call the Bereavement Service helpline you will get access to their adviser. They can also help you to claim any other bereavement benefit entitlements that may apply for your circumstances.
Apply for Funeral Expenses Payment by Phone
Bereavement Service Helpline
Telephone: 0800 151 2012
Welsh language: 0800 731 0453
Textphone: 0800 731 0464
Welsh language: 0800 731 0456
Monday to Friday: 8am to 5pm
CALL CHARGES GUIDE: Check the rates for telephone call charges from a landline or mobile. Call charges vary to popular numbers like 0800, 0808, 0845, 0870, 03 and others.
RECEIVE FUNERAL PAYMENTS QUICKER
The DWP announced a new change to help speed up Funeral Expenses Payment claims. From July 2019, families who are grieving the loss of a loved one will find it easier meeting upfront funeral costs.
Before the change, they could not process a Funeral Expense Payment claim without having a confirmed date for the funeral. Often, this would lead to longer waiting times for processing payments.
But, families will now be able to speed up the process and make a claim using an estimated funeral date (providing they can supply other key information).
Note: A recent report shows the Department for Work and Pensions Bereavement Support team receive around 800 claims each week.
Appeal a Decision
You can appeal to the Social Security if you feel unsatisfied with a decision on the death benefits system. A change in the rules means you must request 'mandatory reconsideration' by the office before you lodge your appeal.
How to Apply for Funeral Expenses Payment in United Kingdom