Children and the higher rate

Children change two things about Bereavement Support Payment: they can move a married or civil-partnered claimant onto the higher rate, and they are central to whether a cohabiting partner can claim at all. This page explains both, and the practical Child Benefit steps that people most often miss.

The higher-rate test for married couples and civil partners

You get the higher rate if, when your partner died, you were getting Child Benefit for a child who lived with you, you had been told by the Child Benefit Office that you were entitled to Child Benefit for a child who lived with you even if you chose not to receive it, or you were pregnant. Note what the test does not say. It does not require you to be the child's biological parent in every case, it does not set a minimum age for the child beyond Child Benefit entitlement itself, and it does not ask how much Child Benefit you received. Child Benefit entitlement is the gateway. A child who lived with you but for whom no one was entitled to Child Benefit does not, on its own, satisfy the test, which is why the next section matters so much.

If Child Benefit was in your late partner's name

This is the single most common administrative trap in the whole benefit. If your late partner was the Child Benefit claimant and you have not yet transferred the claim into your own name, you must make a new Child Benefit claim in your name before your Bereavement Support Payment claim for the higher rate can be considered. Do not assume the Department will simply notice that children live with you. Make the Child Benefit claim first, or at the same time, and tell the Bereavement Service what you have done. The same point applies in reverse for the High Income Child Benefit Tax Charge: if you or your late partner were in that group and had not claimed Child Benefit, you must claim it for the higher rate to be considered. The DWP claim notes make both points explicitly.

Cohabiting partners and children

For partners who were living together as if married, the Child Benefit or pregnancy condition is not just about the rate; unless you are applying for a backdated payment, it is part of whether you can claim at all. You must have been getting Child Benefit for a child who lived with you, have been told you were entitled to it for such a child even if you chose not to receive it, or have been pregnant when your partner died. If Child Benefit was in your late partner's name, the same transfer step applies: make a new claim in your own name before applying for Bereavement Support Payment. If none of these applied and you were not married or in a civil partnership, GOV.UK's current guidance does not open a cohabiting claim, and you should seek advice about other benefits rather than spending the claim windows on an application that cannot succeed.

Pregnancy

Pregnancy at the time of death qualifies on the same terms as Child Benefit entitlement, for both married and cohabiting claims. The test is applied at the date of death. A pregnancy that begins after the death does not retrospectively create higher-rate entitlement, although the child, once born, may affect other benefits and Child Benefit in their own right. If you were pregnant when your partner died, say so clearly on the claim and be ready to provide the information the Department asks for; do not leave the Department to infer it from other records.

Children, older deaths, and other help

If your partner died before 6 April 2017 and you have children, Bereavement Support Payment is not the relevant benefit: Widowed Parent's Allowance was the benefit for that period, and existing awards continue while Child Benefit remains payable. Separately, a bereaved partner with a young child may have employment rights that have nothing to do with this benefit, including Bereaved Partner's Paternity Leave of up to 52 weeks where a child's mother or main adopter has died and the child is under one year old, or under a year since placement for adoption. That leave is an employment right, not a DWP payment, and it is mentioned here only so that it is not confused with Bereavement Support Payment. For day-to-day costs after the 18 months end, Child Benefit itself, Universal Credit, and the other benefits on the other benefits page may matter more than this payment does.

Sources: GOV.UK, Bereavement Support Payment (eligibility, what you will get, how to claim), checked 25 October 2026; DWP Bereavement Support Payment claim notes; House of Commons Library, Bereavement Support Payment (CBP-7887).