DWP issues six-month warning after benefits eligibility criteria change
08.08.2023 - 14:27
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Bereaved parents are being warned that they only have a few months left to claim extra support from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
It comes after the government extended the eligibility for Bereavement Support Payment and Widowed Parent's Allowance to cohabiting parents with dependent children. Before February this year, the benefits were only available to eligible parents who were either married or in a civil partnership.
When the benefit eligibility was extended, it came with a 12-month window to allow cohabiting parents to backdate their claims. That means that parents who had a partner that died before February 9, 2023, only have until February 8, 2024, to make a claim - exactly six months from now.
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DWP Minister Viscount Younger of Leckie said: "This is an important law change which extends support to many more bereaved families with children, regardless of whether parents were married or in a civil partnership. I would urge any parents eligible for backdated money to put in their claim now so they can benefit from this financial support as soon as possible."
To qualify for bereavement benefits, parents must be under the State Pension age, have paid a certain amount of National Insurance contributions and be either pregnant or having a dependent child on the day their partner died.
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Parents can receive one of the two benefits depending on when their partner died:
The payments can be backdated to August 30, 2018 at the earliest. After the February 8 deadline, it will not be possible to claim Widowed Parent’s Allowance and parents