Funeral Payment

You may be eligible for ‘Funeral Payment’ or ‘Bereavement Support’ if you are in receipt of certain benefits and need help to pay for a funeral you’re arranging.

Funeral Expenses Payment

You can apply for Funeral Expenses Payment if all of the following apply:

You are in receipt of certain benefits
You meet the rules on your relationship with the deceased

Benefits & Tax Credits

Benefits and tax credits you must get:

Income Support
Income based Jobseeker’s Allowance
Income related employment and support allowance
Pension Credit
Housing Benefit
Disability or Severe disability element of Working Tax Credit
Child Tax Credit
Universal Credit

You might also be eligible if you are getting a Support for Mortgage Interest Loan.

You can still claim Funeral Expenses Payment if you’ve applied for these benefits and you’re waiting to hear about your claim.

If there is a close relative of the deceased who is not getting one of these benefits, you might not be able to claim Funeral Expenses Payment.

Relationship with the deceased

Rules on your relationship with the deceased

You must be one of the following:

The partner of the deceased when they died
A close relative or close friend of the deceased
The parent of a baby stillborn after 24 weeks of pregnancy
The parent or person responsible for a deceased child under 16

(or under 20 and in approved education or training)

You might not get a Funeral Expenses Payment if another close relative of the deceased

(such as a sibling or parent) is in work.

Contact the Social Fund to see if you are eligible – 0800 169 0140

Funeral Payment is usually paid direct into our bank account.

Bereavement Support Payment

You may be able to get Bereavement Support Payment if your husband, wife or civil partner died in the last 21 months.

You must claim within 3 months of your partner’s death to get the full amount.

You can claim up to 21 months after their death but you’ll get fewer monthly payments.

Bereavement Support Payment has replaced Bereavement Allowance (previously Widow’s Pension), Bereavement Payment, and Widowed Parent’s Allowance.

You could be eligible if your partner either:

paid National Insurance contributions for at least 25 weeks in one tax year since 6 April 1975
died because of an accident at work or a disease caused by work

When they died you must have been:

under State Pension age
living in the UK

Bereavement Service helpline – 0800 731 0469