Widowed parents allowance

[user1487172658]

Hi, I don't know if many people are aware that the government is intending to make cuts to widowed parents allowance from April 2017.
At the moment bereaved parents receive around £400 a month until their children are grown up. But from next month they are cutting this to around £300 per month and only for 18 months.
So parents left to bring up children alone while grieving will only have that small amount of financial assistance for such a short amount of time.
My husband was diagnosed terminally ill when I was 4 months pregnant with our second child. He will never reach pension age although he has paid towards his pension, surely the money he has paid in should go to his young children that won't have their father around to provide for them.
This cut will affect many families in the future who are unfortunate enough to need this help. I have begun a petition on change.org, please follow the link and sign the petition. Perhaps if enough people sign then we can put pressure on the government to change their minds. www.change.org/p/the-rt-hon-damian-stop-cuts-to-widowed-parents-allowance-in-april-2017?recruiter=682333289&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink

[user1487172658]

www.change.org/p/the-rt-hon-damian-stop-cuts-to-widowed-parents-allowance-in-april-2017?recruiter=682333289&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink

[Maylani]

Signed. Nasty party again. As if life wasn't hard enough when you lose your mum or dad.

[SlaveToDisney]

Just having a look through the politics forum and came across this. I just wanted to give it a bump to try to get more people to sign widows parents allowance is such an important lifeline to alot of widows and it's awful to think that it could be cut.

[Anon1234567890]

Why should widowed parents get £400 £300 a month more money than other single parents?

Obviously I get it is a very stressful time and was not expected but is there extra costs involved that other single parents dont have?

[squishysquirmy]

Signed.
Anon, cutting widowed parent's allowance is not going to make other single parents any better off. I know it isn't fair that other single parents are not better supported. Is it possibly due to the assumption that, unlike widowed parents, single parents at least get some maintenance from the non resident parent? I know that this is often not the case though, and I know that many single parents do not receive anything like the support they should receive - that is a scandal, but not directly related to this.
In a way, the state has saved money when a parent dies, as they will never claim a state pension, so why shouldn't some of that money go towards their young children?

[AndNowItIsSeven]

Single parents and their dc are not grieving so it is much easier to work full time.
Also like pp said no chance of maintenance or reconciliation.

[bluebelljar]

Signed @user1487172658

Really?? @Anon1234567890

• on a separate note, I find it difficult to understand why there is no financial support (as far as I am aware) for bereaved cohabiting but unmarried parents:
  

www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/claiming-bereavement-allowance-and-other-benefits#bereavement-benefits-if-you-were-living-together

[bluebelljar]

By financial support I mean bereavement benefits...

[KimJongCunt]

They are cunts.

Vote otherwise.

[squishysquirmy]

That's awful bluebells. Cohabiting parents should get the same benefits as married parents, especially in the case of the bereavement- why on earth should bereaved children be punished for their parents' marital status?

[user1487172658]

Yes it is very hard for single parents, I think most people would agree.
But this is about bereaved families. Widowed parents allowance was paid from the deceased parents national insurance contributions that would have paid their pension had they lived long enough to receive it. So instead the money went to their children.
If the surviving parent were on benefits they would not have received more money than single parents, but once they returned to work they could receive widowed parents allowance and it would be taxable income.