Funeral Benefits Payments in Worthing & West Sussex

For people who are concerned about their financial position as a result of the death of their husband, wife or partner, or family members who are worried about not being able to afford a funeral for their loved one, there is help available from the government.

Bereavement Support Payment

Bereavement Support Payment can help if your husband, wife, civil partner or the partner you lived with has died. It is not means tested, so your earnings and savings do not affect it. You may be eligible if:

• you were under State Pension age when your partner died
• you were married to them, in a civil partnership with them, or living with them as if you were married (if you were not married, you must have been getting Child Benefit for a child living with you, or been pregnant, when they died)
• your partner paid National Insurance contributions in at least one tax year, or died because of an accident at work or a disease caused by their work

You usually need to claim within 3 months of your partner's death to get the full amount, and within 21 months at the latest. See Bereavement Support Payment on GOV.UK for current rates and how to claim.

Funeral Expenses Payment

Help is also available for those who cannot afford to pay for a funeral. A Funeral Expenses Payment may be available if you, or your partner, receive one of these benefits:

• Universal Credit
• Pension Credit
• Housing Benefit
• income-related Employment and Support Allowance

You may also qualify if you get a Support for Mortgage Interest loan, or if your claim for one of these benefits is still being decided. You usually need to be the partner of the person who has died, or the parent of a child who has died. A close relative or friend may be able to claim if there was no partner, but a close relative may be refused if they are working or not on a qualifying benefit.

The payment can help with burial or cremation fees, travel to arrange or attend the funeral, and death certificates, plus up to £1,000 towards other costs such as funeral director fees, flowers or the coffin. Any money the person who died left in their estate will be used to repay it.

When you register the death of your relative, the Registrar can also help you use the Tell Us Once service, which informs the Department for Work and Pensions and other government offices so that benefits and pensions can be updated. We can advise you on the procedure for making a claim. You can also see our funeral costs.