A Martin Lewis Money Show viewer has managed to claim back £33,000 in backdated bereavement support.
Sherry wrote into the show after hearing Mr Lewis’s advice from a previous show, saying: “Thank you for mentioning the bereavement support for unmarried parents.
“I lost my partner unexpectedly whilst I was pregnant and I wasn’t entitled to any support.
“I received a backdated payment of over £33,000! This will make a massive difference to our quality of life. I can’t thank you enough.”
Mr Lewis added: “If you know someone this may affect, tell them and tell them now – it’s urgent.”
“If you’re unmarried, have kids, and your partner has died since 2001, you can possibly claim up to £40,000 backdated bereavement support.
“The form has to arrive by February 8, which means if I tell you this time next week, you probably won’t be able to post it in time. This is your last chance.”
People may be able to get Bereavement Support Payment from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) if their partner has died. It has replaced the following benefits:
- Widowed Parent’s Allowance (if a person already gets this, their payments will continue until they’re no longer eligible)
- Bereavement Allowance (previously Widow’s Pension)
- Bereavement Payment.
Last year, the DWP opened a 12-month window for cohabiting parents to backdate Bereavement Support Payment claims.
Parents whose partner died before February 9, 2023, have until the end of February 8, 2024, to do so.
After this, it will not be possible to claim Widowed Parents Allowance (WPA) and they will not get their full entitlement to backdated Bereavement Support Payment (BSP), making it important for people to check as soon as possible if they may be eligible.
The payments are intended to help with the financial impact of losing a partner and can be backdated to August 30, 2018.
Parents will be eligible for different benefits depending on the date their partner died. If they died before April 6, 2017, they would need to claim WPA.
If they died on or after April 6, 2017, they would need to claim BSP, which has replaced WPA.
Bereavement Support Payment claims can be made online, over the phone or through a paper application form. WPA claims are only processed by paper forms.
These can be downloaded from the GOV.UK website or requested via the Bereavement Service helpline on 0800 151 2012.
