If you're widowed below State Pension age and have at least 1 dependent child you could claim Widowed Parent's Allowance.

You may also claim if you're pregnant and your husband has died, or you're pregnant after fertility treatment and your civil partner has died.

You can get Widowed Parent's Allowance until you stop getting Child Benefit.

The amount you get is based on how much your late husband, wife or civil partner paid in National Insurance contributions. In some cases, you may be entitled to an additional pension. The maximum Widowed Parent's Allowance (WPA) is £111.20 a week.

If your husband, wife or civil partner died as a result of an industrial accident or disease, you may claim WPA even if they didn't pay National Insurance contributions.

You can get WPA until you stop receiving Child Benefit. If your WPA ends within 52 weeks of your husband, wife or civil partner's death, you may be able to get Bereavement Allowance for the rest of the 52 weeks.

The benefit cap limits the amount of benefit that most people aged 16 to 64 can get. Some individual benefits aren't affected, but it may affect the total amount of benefit you get.

You may get Widowed Parent's Allowance (WPA) if all the following apply:

• your husband, wife or civil partner has died
• you're getting Child Benefit for at least 1 child and your late husband, wife or civil partner was their parent
• you’re under State Pension age
• your late husband, wife or civil partner paid National Insurance contributions, or they died as a result of an industrial accident or disease

You may also claim WPA if you're pregnant and your husband has died, or you're pregnant after fertility treatment and your civil partner has died.

You can't claim WPA if:

• you were divorced from your husband, wife or civil partner when they died
• you remarry or are living with another person as if you’re married to them or as if you’ve formed a civil partnership
• you’re in prison

You can order a Bereavement Benefits claim pack (form BB1) over the telephone from your local Jobcentre Plus office. You can also download it below. Fill in the form and send to your local Jobcentre Plus office as soon as possible.

Download 'Bereavement Benefits - form BB1' (PDF, 184KB)

Apply by phone

You can make a claim over the telephone by contacting the Bereavement Service.

Bereavement Service
Telephone: 0845 606 0265 (choose option 2)
Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm
Find out about call charges

Apply for Widowed Parent's Allowance within 3 months of the date of death to avoid losing any money.

Bereavement benefits

You may also be eligible for:

• Bereavement Payment
• Bereavement Allowance (once your Widowed Parent’s Allowance has ended)

Effect on other benefits

If you’re getting any of the following benefits, your payments may change if you get Widowed Parent’s Allowance:

• Income Support
• Incapacity Benefit
• Jobseeker’s Allowance
• Carer’s Allowance
• Employment and Support Allowance

The Jobcentre Plus office that deals with your claim will explain how this works.

What to do if your circumstances change

You must contact Jobcentre Plus to tell them if your circumstances change, for example:

• you stop getting Child Benefit
• you remarry
• you start to live with a partner as husband or wife, or as if you had formed a civil partnership