Widowed parents are being urged to ascertain whether or not they can claim backdated bereavement advantages before the deadline in February.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) prolonged the eligibility criteria to incorporate cohabitating parents with dependent children, meaning many more families could possibly be entitled to a payment, which could possibly be price 1000’s of kilos.
The Bereavement Support Payment and Widowed Parent’s Allowance are designed to assist parents with the financial impact of losing a partner. Previously these advantages were only available to eligible bereaved parents who were married or in a civil partnership, but the law was modified earlier this 12 months to make it fairer to children.
DWP Minister Viscount Younger of Leckie said: “That is a vital law change which extends support to many more bereaved families with children, no matter whether parents were married or in a civil partnership.
“I might urge any parents eligible for backdated money to place of their claim now so that they can profit from this financial support as soon as possible.”
Taking to ITV’s Lorraine show, Financial Times journalist and host of the podcast, Money Clinic, Claer Barrett told viewers the support “could possibly be price as much as £10,000” in some cases making it “price looking into”.
When the DWP prolonged eligibility in February, it opened a 12-month window for cohabiting parents to backdate their claims. This implies parents whose partner died before February 9, 2023, have until February 8, 2024, to assert.
After this, it’ll not be possible to assert Widowed Parent’s Allowance and fogeys is not going to get their full entitlement to a backdated payment of Bereavement Support Payment.
Who’s eligible for support?
The profit a parent is eligible for will rely upon the date their partner died. If their partner died before April 6, 2017, they would wish to assert Widowed Parent’s Allowance.
If an individual’s partner died on or after April 6, 2017, they would wish to assert Bereavement Support Payment, which has replaced Widowed Parent’s Allowance.
The earliest point payments might be backdated to is August 30, 2018, even when the person’s partner died before this date.
To qualify for either of those bereavement advantages, parents should be under the state pension age (currently 66), have paid a certain quantity of National Insurance contributions and be either pregnant or having a dependent child on the day their partner died.
Alison Penny MBE, director of the Childhood Bereavement Network said: “It has been very moving to listen to stories from parents who’ve received a backdated payment after years of being unable to access this lifeline profit for them and their children.
“We predict there are lots of others on the market who could possibly be in line for payment. We encourage anyone who thinks they is likely to be eligible to look into this and seek specialist welfare advantages advice in the event that they are in any doubt in regards to the effects that a back payment could have on their wider tax and social security entitlements.”
Parents can claim Bereavement Support Payment online, over the phone or through a paper application form.
