Bereavement Support Payment

If your husband, wife or civil partner has recently died, you may be able to get a Bereavement Support Payment (BSP).

If you qualify for Bereavement Support Payment you will get a lump sum payment of £3,500 plus regular payments worth £139.10 per week (2023-24 rate) normally for up to 78 weeks. However, if at the end of 78 weeks you are responsible for a child or children under 6 you will continue to get Bereavement Support Payment until your youngest (or only) child’s 6^th birthday.

If you get BSP it will not affect any other social security benefits you get.

Basic qualifying conditions

You may qualify for BSP if:

• Your husband, wife or civil partner has died
• You are under state pension age
• You were ordinarily resident in the Isle of Man or in certain other countries when your husband, wife or civil partner died, and
• Your late husband, wife or civil partner paid enough National Insurance contributions in the Isle of Man or in certain other countries, or they died as a result of an accident at work or a disease caused by work.

You cannot qualify for BSP if:

• Your husband, wife or civil partner died before 6 April 2017
• You were over state pension age when they died
• You were not ordinarily resident in the Isle of Man or in certain other countries when your husband, wife or civil partner died
• Your late husband, wife or civil partner did not pay enough any National Insurance contributions in the Isle of Man or in certain other countries, and their death was not as a result of an accident at work or a disease caused by work
• You were not married to, or in a civil partnership with, the deceased person when they died
• You are in prison

Applying for Bereavement Support Payment

Send your completed Bereavement Support Payment claim form to us, as soon as you can but not later than 3 months after your husband, wife or civil partner died.

If you delay claiming you may lose some benefit.

Your BSP will not stop if you remarry, form a new civil partnership or co-habit with another person as if you were married or civil partners.

Payment

If you qualify for BSP you will get a lump sum payment of £3,000 plus weekly payments for up to 78 weeks.

BSP can be paid directly into your bank or building society account, or you can collect it from the Post Office using a MiCard.

The lump sum payment of BSP is not taxable but weekly payments of BSP are taxable.