What money can I get to help when someone dies?
Last reviewed May 2026 by Naomi Jackson
The UK has several bereavement benefits and grants that go unclaimed every year because people don't know they exist. Here's a clear summary of what's available.
Short answer
If your partner died, Bereavement Support Payment pays a one-off £3,500 plus 18 monthly payments of £350 at the higher rate, or £2,500 plus £100 at the lower rate, and it is not means-tested. If you get a qualifying benefit, Funeral Expenses Payment helps with funeral costs in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and Funeral Support Payment does the same in Scotland.
- Bereavement Support Payment
- £3,500 plus 18 monthly payments of £350, or £2,500 plus £100
- Claim deadline
- Within 3 months for the full amount, 21 months at the latest
- Funeral Expenses Payment
- Burial or cremation fees plus up to £1,000 of other costs
- Scotland
- Funeral Support Payment, flat rate £1,327.75 towards other costs
- Children's funerals
- Children's Funeral Fund covers fees in England, plus coffin up to £300
Who qualifies, the bits that catch people out
A few points of detail change who gets paid more than anything else:
- •Cohabiting partners can qualify. The rules were widened in February 2023, but they cover deaths from 30 August 2018 onwards. So if your partner died several years ago, you had a child living with you or you were pregnant, and you were told you didn't qualify at the time, it is worth claiming now.
- •A pre-paid funeral plan cuts the funeral help sharply. If there was a plan, Funeral Expenses Payment pays up to £120 towards items the plan doesn't cover, instead of up to £1,000. In Scotland the flat rate drops from £1,327.75 to £162.05.
- •National Insurance contributions matter. For Bereavement Support Payment, the person who died generally needed to have paid NI for at least 25 weeks across their working life, or died from a work-related cause. Most working adults clear this comfortably, but it can rule out people who only ever worked overseas or were self-employed without contributing.
- •The 3-month deadline isn't the final deadline. Claim within 3 months for the one-off payment and all 18 monthly payments. Between 3 and 12 months you still get the one-off payment and some monthly payments. Between 12 and 21 months, monthly payments only. After 21 months, usually nothing.
- •Widowed Parent's Allowance is closed. It ended for new claims on 6 April 2017. If your partner died on or after that date, Bereavement Support Payment is the one to look at instead.
Bereavement Support Payment
- Where it applies
- England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland
- Who can claim
- Spouses and civil partners under State Pension age, and cohabiting partners who were getting Child Benefit for a child living with them, or were pregnant, when their partner died.
- How much
- Higher rate: £3,500 one-off payment plus 18 monthly payments of £350. Lower rate: £2,500 plus 18 monthly payments of £100.
- Deadline
- Claim within 3 months of the death for the one-off payment and all 18 monthly payments. Between 3 and 12 months you get the one-off payment and some monthly payments. Between 12 and 21 months you get some monthly payments only. After 21 months you usually get nothing.
- How to claim
- Apply at gov.uk/bereavement-support-payment or call the DWP Bereavement Service on 0800 151 2012.
- •You get the higher rate if you were getting Child Benefit for a child living with you, or were pregnant, when your partner died. Cohabiting partners who qualify get the higher rate.
- •It is not means-tested, is not taxed, and does not affect your other benefits for a year after your first payment.
Source: GOV.UK, Bereavement Support Payment: what you'll get, checked 21 September 2026.
Funeral Expenses Payment
- Where it applies
- England, Wales, Northern Ireland
- Who can claim
- You or your partner get a qualifying benefit (Universal Credit, Pension Credit, Income Support, Housing Benefit, Child or Working Tax Credit, income-based JSA or income-related ESA) and you are responsible for arranging the funeral.
- How much
- Burial or cremation fees, travel to arrange or attend the funeral, moving the person more than 50 miles within the UK, and death certificates or other documents. Plus up to £1,000 towards other costs such as the funeral director's fees, the coffin or flowers.
- Deadline
- Claim within 6 months of the funeral.
- How to claim
- Apply at gov.uk/funeral-payments or call 0800 151 2012. In Northern Ireland, apply through nidirect. The money is paid to you if you have already paid, or straight to the funeral director if you have not.
- •If the person who died had a pre-paid funeral plan, you can only get up to £120 towards items the plan does not cover.
- •The payment will not usually cover the whole funeral, and it is deducted from any money you receive from the estate.
Source: GOV.UK, Funeral Expenses Payment: what you'll get, checked 21 September 2026.
Funeral Support Payment (Scotland)
- Where it applies
- Scotland
- Who can claim
- You live in Scotland, you or your partner get a qualifying low-income benefit, and it is reasonable for you to be responsible for the funeral. It has replaced Funeral Expenses Payment in Scotland.
- How much
- Burial, cremation or water cremation costs, travel costs for one return journey, transport to move the person more than 49.7 miles, and document costs. Plus a flat rate payment of £1,327.75 towards other funeral costs.
- Deadline
- Apply any time after the death and up to 6 months after the funeral.
- How to claim
- Apply at mygov.scot/funeral-support-payment, or call Social Security Scotland free on 0800 182 2222.
- •If the person who died had a pre-paid funeral plan, the flat rate drops to £162.05.
- •The flat rate is paid in full even if you are only covering part of the funeral costs.
Source: Social Security Scotland, Funeral Support Payment flat-rate payment, checked 21 September 2026.
Children's Funeral Fund for England
- Where it applies
- England
- Who can claim
- Anyone arranging the funeral of a child under 18, or a baby stillborn after the 24th week of pregnancy, where the burial or cremation takes place in England. It is not means-tested.
- How much
- Burial fees, cremation fees including the doctor's certificate, and the coffin, shroud or casket up to £300.
- Deadline
- Claims must be made within 6 months of the funeral.
- How to claim
- The burial or cremation provider claims the fees directly, so you should not be charged. Your funeral director can claim for other expenses, or you can claim online at gov.uk/child-funeral-costs.
- •Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own arrangements for children's funeral costs, usually through the local council or the devolved government, so check locally rather than applying to this scheme.
- •Other costs may be covered by Funeral Expenses Payment if you get a qualifying benefit.
Source: GOV.UK, Support for child funeral costs, checked 21 September 2026.
Widowed Parent's Allowance
Closed to new claims- Where it applies
- England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland
- Who can claim
- Closed scheme. It only applies if your partner died before 6 April 2017 and you are already receiving it. Bereavement Support Payment replaced it for deaths on or after that date.
- How much
- A weekly payment based on your late partner's National Insurance record, reviewed each April. Check your award letter or GOV.UK for your current rate.
- Deadline
- No new claims. Payments stop if you remarry, form a civil partnership or live with a new partner.
- How to claim
- If you already receive it, contact the DWP Bereavement Service on 0800 151 2012 with any change of circumstances.
Source: GOV.UK, Widowed Parent's Allowance, checked 21 September 2026.
Council hardship and welfare assistance
- Where it applies
- England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland
- Who can claim
- Varies by council. Many councils run a local welfare assistance or crisis grant scheme that can help with costs after a death.
- How much
- Varies by council. There is no national rate, so ask your council what its scheme covers.
- Deadline
- Varies by council.
- How to claim
- Search your council's website for 'local welfare assistance' or 'crisis grant', or call them. In Scotland, ask about a Crisis Grant from the Scottish Welfare Fund.
Source: GOV.UK, find your local council, checked 21 September 2026.
Pensions and life insurance
- Where it applies
- England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland
- Who can claim
- Anyone named as a beneficiary on a workplace pension, personal pension or life insurance policy.
- How much
- Varies by scheme. Many workplace pensions pay a death in service lump sum, and some also pay a survivor's pension. Ask the scheme what the policy provides.
- Deadline
- Varies. Many schemes ask you to claim within two years of the death.
- How to claim
- Contact the pension scheme or the employer's HR team. Most death in service payments are made outside the estate, so they do not wait for probate.
Source: MoneyHelper, what to do about pensions when someone dies, checked 21 September 2026.
Try our eligibility checker
Our free bereavement financial help checker walks through your situation and tells you which of these you may be entitled to.
Questions people ask most
Is there a bereavement payment for next of kin?
Not as such. Being next of kin does not by itself entitle you to a bereavement payment. Bereavement Support Payment goes only to a surviving spouse, civil partner or qualifying cohabiting partner. Other relatives, including adult children, can get help with funeral costs if they are paying for the funeral and already get a qualifying benefit, and the funeral can usually be paid from the estate.
Is there a bereavement fund or charity grant?
There is no single government bereavement fund. Beyond the payments above, grants come from charities, trade and professional benevolent funds, and some employers. The deceased's pension, life cover or death-in-service benefit is often the largest sum and is claimed directly from the provider.
Are bereavement payments means-tested in the UK?
Bereavement Support Payment is not means-tested. Your income, savings and whether you work make no difference, and it is not treated as income for tax or counted for most benefit calculations. Help with funeral costs is different: Funeral Expenses Payment and Funeral Support Payment only go to people already getting a qualifying benefit, such as Universal Credit, Pension Credit or Housing Benefit.
Is there still a bereavement grant or lump sum?
The old Bereavement Payment lump sum and Widowed Parent's Allowance closed to new claims on 6 April 2017. Bereavement Support Payment replaced them, and it is the payment most people mean when they search for a bereavement grant: a one-off £3,500 plus 18 monthly payments of £350 at the higher rate, or £2,500 plus £100 a month at the lower rate.
Can I claim a bereavement payment when a parent dies?
Bereavement Support Payment is only for a spouse, civil partner, or a cohabiting partner who was getting Child Benefit for a child living with them. An adult child cannot claim it for a parent. If you are paying for the funeral and you get a qualifying benefit, you may still claim Funeral Expenses Payment, or Funeral Support Payment in Scotland. Otherwise funeral costs are normally paid from the estate, and banks will usually release money for the funeral bill before probate is granted. Our funeral costs guide shows what a UK funeral typically costs.
Other places to look
- •Charity grants, Turn2us, Age UK, Cruse, and SSAFA all run hardship grant programmes.
- •Employer death-in-service benefits, check the contract or HR.
- •Mortgage protection and PPI, sometimes pay off a mortgage automatically on death.
- •Trade union or professional body bereavement funds.
Every amount on this page was checked against the official source on 21 September 2026, and each one is linked above. Rates and rules can change, usually each April, so check the source before you rely on a figure. This is general guidance, not financial advice.
Related guides
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Funeral cost calculator
Estimate a funeral for your area and the choices you are making.
