Widowed Parents Allowance

What is it?

Widowed Parent's Allowance (WPA) is a weekly benefit paid to widows and surviving civil partners who have dependent children.

Basic qualifying condition

WPA is paid if your late spouse or civil partner had paid enough NI contributions or their death was caused by their job, and

• You have a child for whom you are entitled to, or can be treated as entitled to Child Benefit; or
• You are expecting a baby (please download Section 10 of the Benefits and Contributions Guide below for further information), or
• You are under state pension age when your spouse or civil partner dies

You can download Section 10 of the Benefits and Contributions Guide to find out more information on a qualifying child and the contribution conditions which must be met.

How much could I get and how am I paid?

See benefits rates for further details.

You can be paid weekly by orders which you can cash at a Post Office or you can have it paid by direct credit into your bank or building society every 4 weeks.

How and when should I apply?

Claim forms can be requested from and returned to: 

Claims should be made as soon as possible, and no later than 3 months after your spouse's or civil partner's death.

The following benefits can be paid in addition but are reduced by the amount of Widowed Parent's Allowance in payment

• Carer's Allowance
• Jobseeker's Allowance (contribution based)
• Incapacity Benefit
• Severe Disablement Allowance
• Maternity Allowance
• Income Support (subject to a disregard)

Retirement Pension cannot be paid in addition to Widowed Parent's Allowance.