Nearly 12,000 unmarried parents whose partners have died risk missing out on an estimated £175m of benefit payments, according to figures seen by the BBC.
If a couple with children are married or in a civil partnership and one of them dies, the surviving parent is entitled to bereavement support.
Last year, UK law changed to afford cohabiting couples the same right.
Last year, UK law changed to afford cohabiting couples the same right.
Following a Freedom of Information request, BBC Radio 4’s Money Box discovered that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) estimates about 17,000 widowed parents are eligible for bereavement support payments.
But only about 5,000 people have applied so far, leaving an estimated £175m waiting to be claimed.
To qualify, you had to have children under the age of 18 living with you on 30 August 2018 – the date on which the Supreme Court ruled on the case of Siobhan McLaughlin that it was against human rights law to deny such payments to unmarried parents.
You can check if you are eligible here.
Nearly 12,000 unmarried parents whose partners have died risk missing out on an estimated £175m of benefit payments, according to figures seen by the BBC.
Last year, UK law changed to afford cohabiting couples the same right.
If a couple with children are married or in a civil partnership and one of them dies, the surviving parent is entitled to bereavement support.
Following a Freedom of Information request, BBC Radio 4’s Money Box discovered that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) estimates about 17,000 widowed parents are eligible for bereavement support payments.
Last year, UK law changed to afford cohabiting couples the same right.
Last year, UK law changed to afford cohabiting couples the same right.
Following a Freedom of Information request, BBC Radio 4’s Money Box discovered that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) estimates about 17,000 widowed parents are eligible for bereavement support payments.
But only about 5,000 people have applied so far, leaving an estimated £175m waiting to be claimed.
To qualify, you had to have children under the age of 18 living with you on 30 August 2018 – the date on which the Supreme Court ruled on the case of Siobhan McLaughlin that it was against human rights law to deny such payments to unmarried parents.
You can check if you are eligible here.
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