To be delighted to see this piece of legislation re: bereavement benefit

[TeeSor127458]

'Relief and delight' over bereavement benefit change www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-64440332

Often thrown in to Mumsnet debates as a reason to get married, bereavement benefit has been reduced down over the years however, it will now be available to parents who unmarried but under pension age. Glad to see that the child is being put first.

Worth knowing that the benefit can be back paid to 30th august 2018 when a court ruled that it was against human rights to withhold the payment.

100% agree, it’s always pissed me off the gov treat unmarried partners as married when it suits them, eg when living together they claim joint benefits, but wouldn’t get a bereavement allowance if one partner died.

Would love to know why someone voted this as unreasonable!

@ShoesIBoughtYouAsAPresent fat fingers? Or majorly p’d off they got married to secure this benefit and now they needn’t have bothered 😉

I read this too , my partner died on Oct 20 , we weren't married and have a now 15 year old son , does any one know if you have to be on benefits to claim it , at the time we weren't but I now claim UC to top up my wages
, also when it comes into legislation? Thank you

Meaning October 2020

@Itsalldramarama it is not a means tested benefit and you should get it paid to you (and it does not affect other benefits). I really hope you get this soon - my husband died and it was a lifesaver knowing that money was coming monthly and there was a small lump sum paid as well. The people you will deal with on the phone are really lovely and compassionate and will guide you.

www.gov.uk/bereavement-support-payment/what-youll-get

Read the whole page. You get the higher rate if you receive or are entitled to child benefit, and the lower rate if not. Bereavement Support money is ignored for 12 months with respect to your entitlement to any other benefit.

Both my husband and I will be entitled to back claim, as we lost our partners a few years ago. It's always been unfair that people get treated as a couple when it comes to tax credits, universal credit etc, but not for this. It's supposed to be for the benefit of the children left without a parent.

I am touched and so sorry to hear about your loss @Sapphire387 @iwantavuvezela @Itsalldramarama

some of the comments that I have read on previous threads have been quite shocking along the lines of ‘want the benefits; should have got married’. Complete blind spot that this is about children and families.

I hope you and your children are doing ok. My attitude to money has always been that it doesn’t buy you happiness but it can sure as hell pay off a lot of trouble. I hope this makes a positive difference for you:

Totally agree. Being married or not should not be the basis of a bereavement support benefit for children. As you say, the state is happy enough to count unmarried partners earnings for benefits, etc.

It's still potentially a reason, as married couples continue to have access to a wider range of state bereavement benefits. There's no guarantee the partner of the deceased will be the one entitled to the benefit here, as its about children.

Good decision though, and a long time coming. I would however support an extension so the other parent can claim even when the earnings were too high for CB.

Won’t affect UC as it’s not means tested and there’s no other benefit you need to be on to claim it.

Thank you , I guess it's just waiting until it's confirmed then see how how to claim , hopefully not too complicated

Update
Applied via phone last week ,as I couldn't find anything with his NI number on to apply online and they were extremely helpful and I've just woke up to the full 9800 payment in my bank :)

I am absolutely delighted for you and your children. I hope it brings you joy and pays off trouble 💐

@HippeePrincess l agree, they do it when it suits!

Another one glad to see this change.
I was fortunate in that we were able to married shortly before my wife died in 2016. I only found out about the benefit from the undertaker arranging the funeral.
I'd have been pretty angry to not have been eligible had we not been able to get married as it changed nothing physical - together several years and 2 children together, married or not that didn't change.
Especially when the government can consider you financially responsible for someone when it suits them, like with the high earner child benefit charge.

@Itsalldramarama glad you got it!

Hmmm. Anything that encourages the lower paid partner in a relationship with kids (usually the woman) to stay unmarried is a bad thing. So actually I think this gives real mixed messages and might make people incorrectly think that there is such a thing as a 'common law wife'. It should be shouted from the rooftops "do not downsize your career for your family if you aren't married".

This applies to MARRIED people too It should be shouted from the rooftops "do not downsize your career for your family" it’s a tired old chestnut to rely on marriage as protection.

I will also have to agree to differ on this . ‘Anything that encourages the lower paid partner in a relationship with kids (usually the woman) to stay unmarried is a bad thing’. This is a benefit for the child, which is why it should always have been
paid. I’d also argue it should be paid to divorced couples too where the parent has been contributing to the upbringing of that child either financially or by active parenting.

Hi, not sure if this is the correct place to post.
My partner died 7 years a go, shortly after I gave birth. I applied for widows parents allowance but was refused as we weren't married. As the law has now changed, i was told I could reapply. However, as I can't work, due to a progressive medical condition, I get nothing. I should receive over 400 pounds every month for my daughter but I won't as I am discriminated against as I am unable to work full time. Its disgusting. If I would havr been able to work full time for the past 7 years I would receive roughly 30 thousand pounds in back dated payments, but as I'm disabled and can't work. I get nothing. Why is my daughter being penalised for my disability.

@SarahLouisecroft Im sorry for your loss. I can’t imagine what a difficult time that was for you.

i am a layperson but I did read the gov.uk website throughly. As your partners death predates April 2017, your claim would be for widowed parents allowance as your say. The eligibility criteria are ’You can only make a new claim for WPA if your partner died before 6 April 2017.All the following must also apply:you’re under State Pension age
you’re entitled to Child Benefit for at least one child
you and your partner were married, in a registered civil partnership, or living together as though you were married
your partner paid National Insurance contributions, or they died because of an accident at work or a disease caused by work

I can’t seen anything in there that excludes you based on disability or your working hours? Is it more about this benefit impacting other payments you receive?

Hi, Thanks so much for your reply.
It's because I receive ESA and the widows parents allowance is counted as earned income. Its very sad.

@SarahLouisecroft
Is it that WPA counting as earned income would affect your ESA claim?
That seems very unfair.
Looking at the rules for working on ESA:
-You have to work less than 16h per week (you'd still be doing 0h)
-you do not earn more than £152 pw (so £608 4weekly/£658pm), which you wouldn't be if you were entitled to £400 per month in WPA as you said.

If you haven't already, given the amounts at stake it certainly would be worthwhile speaking to someone (CAB?) who knows all the ins and outs of how these things interact.

Are you sure this is correct ? My understanding is that it is the deceased person who needs to have paid NI contributions at some point in their working life, for the bereaved partner to claim berevament support payments. I assume it was the same or similar for WPA,.

It won't affect UC although I think the lump sum is only disregarded from Uc capital rules for 12 months. the lump sum is 3.5k and the monthly payments are £350 a month for 18 months. My neighbour recently claimed, she lost her partner around 2 years ago and she got it all back paid in one lump sum of just under 10k ( lump sum and 18 x £350 all paid together).