Thousands of grieving Brits will be able to claim £10,000 in backdated benefits from September 2022, government documents suggest.
Small print from Rishi Sunak ’s Budget shows the government has finally set a rough date for the change, four years after being defeated in the Supreme Court.
Bereavement Support Payment - worth up to £3,500, plus £350 a month for 18 months - is being extended to unmarried, cohabiting couples with children. Previously only married couples can claim.
Anyone who would have been eligible since a Supreme Court defeat on 30 August 2018 will be able to apply for backdated payments.
Previously there was no timescale for the change, but Budget documents now say: “Payments will go out from the date of the Remedial Order coming into force, which is assumed to be September 2022 for the purposes of this costing.
“However, this date may shift depending on Parliamentary timing.”
But the estimated number of partners who will benefit has been drastically revised down.
The DWP previously estimated an extra £320m in extra benefits would be handed out up to 2025/26, but the Budget documents now suggest it will be £200m.
It was not immediately clear why. The DWP was contacted for comment.
People who lose their partner before pension age can claim a Bereavement Support Payment.
In February 2020 the High Court struck down the rule in that required grieving partners to have been married.
Similar rules in Widowed Parent's Allowance, which BSP replaced, had already been defeated in the Supreme Court in 2018.
In future, if someone had both a spouse and a cohabiting partner at the time they died, only one of the surviving lovers will be allowed to claim bereavement benefits.
In these cases there will be a complex order of priority to decide who gets the benefits, with cohabiting spouses at the top of the list.
However, for retrospective claims, there will be transitional payments to cover both lovers.
This means payments to a widow or widower will not stop even if the deceased’s partner at the time puts in a claim too.
A DWP official said the revised cost would not mean any change to the generosity of payments.
A DWP spokesperson said: “This legislative change is in progress to enable more families to access support during the most difficult of times and will face full parliamentary scrutiny. Once approved by parliament, payments could be backdated to 30 August 2018.”
