What Bereavement Support Payment is and who it is for
Bereavement Support Payment (BSP) is a DWP benefit for people whose spouse, civil partner or cohabiting partner dies. It replaced three earlier bereavement benefits (Bereavement Payment, Bereavement Allowance and Widowed Parent's Allowance) for deaths on or after 6 April 2017. For deaths before that date, the old rules still apply.
BSP is not means-tested, your income and savings make no difference to whether you qualify. The test is whether the person who died paid enough National Insurance contributions, and whether you were legally married, in a civil partnership, or cohabiting as partners at the time of death.
The 2026/27 rates, higher and lower rate
There are two rates of BSP in 2026/27. The higher rate applies where you are pregnant at the time of your partner's death, or where you have dependent children living with you. The higher rate is a lump sum of £3,500 followed by 18 monthly payments of £350. Total higher rate value: £9,800.
The lower rate applies to all other qualifying claimants. It pays a lump sum of £2,500 followed by 18 monthly payments of £100. Total lower rate value: £4,300. In both cases the lump sum and the first monthly payment are released together when the claim is processed.
The National Insurance contribution condition
To qualify, the person who died must have paid Class 1 or Class 2 National Insurance contributions in any one tax year since 6 April 1975, worth at least 25 times that year's lower earnings limit (earnings between the lower earnings limit and the primary threshold are treated as paid). Class 3 voluntary contributions do not count. The test does not apply if the death was caused by an accident at work or an industrial disease. This test is about the deceased's NI record, not yours.
If the deceased was self-employed and paid Class 2 NI, that counts. If they were a low earner exempt from contributions, the exemption may still satisfy the test. If the NI record is incomplete or uncertain, it is worth checking with DWP, the records can sometimes be reconstructed if early-career contributions are missing.
The claim deadline, act within 21 months
Claims for BSP must be made within 21 months of the date of death. Claim within 3 months and you receive all payments from the first month. Claim between 3 and 21 months and you receive the remaining payments from the month you claim, missing earlier payments that you were too late to claim for. After 21 months no claim can be made.
The 21-month window is often missed during bereavement when administrative tasks feel impossible. If you are approaching the deadline, a claim should be submitted immediately even if supporting documents are not yet complete, the claim date is what matters.
How BSP interacts with Universal Credit
BSP is not counted as income for Universal Credit. It is not on the list of unearned income in the Universal Credit Regulations, so neither the lump sum nor the monthly payments reduce your UC award.
The 12-month point matters for savings instead: BSP will not affect your benefits for a year after your first payment, but after that any of the money you still have counts as capital. If keeping it would take you over £6,000 (tariff income) or £16,000 (UC stops), it is worth planning how the money is used or held.
BSP can be received at the same time as other bereavement-related support, including any continuing pension entitlement or bereavement elements in older legacy benefits for pre-2017 deaths.