Widowed Parent's Allowance is a benefit under the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Entitlement

It replaced Widowed Mother's Allowance in 2001 as part of the process of removing

sex discrimination Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but primarily affects women and girls. It has been linked to gender roles and stereotypes, and may include the belief that one sex or gender is int ...

from the Social Security system. It is available to anyone with a child whose husband, wife or civil partner has died. The claimant must get

Child Benefit Child benefit or children's allowance is a social security payment which is distributed to the parents or guardians of children, teenagers and in some cases, young adult (psychology), young adults. Countries operate different versions of the benefi ...

for at least one child and the late husband, wife or civil partner was their parent. It is not available if the partners were divorced at the time of death, if the claimant is in prison, if they remarry or are cohabitating with another person by means of living together as a married couple.

Amount of benefit

In 2013 the maximum payment is £108.30 a week. It is taxable, but it is not affected by the receipt of other income. It is counted in full for all means-tested benefits. The amount payable is dependent on the

National Insurance National Insurance (NI) is a fundamental component of the welfare state in the United Kingdom. It acts as a form of social security, since payment of NI contributions establishes entitlement to certain state benefits for workers and their famil ...

contributions paid by the deceased. It could be affected by the benefit cap. It continues while

continues.

Proposed changes

In July 2013 it was reported that the government was planning changes in the Pensions Bill 2012 going through parliament, which would limit this benefit to a maximum of £400 a month paid out for just 12 months, with a lump sum of £5,000 following bereavement. The 43,500 families already in receipt of the allowance would be unaffected by the reforms. The

Department for Work and Pensions The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for welfare spending, welfare, pensions and child maintenance ...

estimated that in 2016 the government expects to pay £590m a year to bereaved couples and families. With the changes, payments would drop to £530m by 2020. For deaths after 6 April 2017, Widowed Parent's Allowance was replaced by

Bereavement Support Payment In the United Kingdom, Bereavement Support Payments (also known as bereavement benefits) are paid to the husband/wife or partner of a person who has died in the previous 21 months. It replaced Bereavement Payment and Bereavement Allowance in April ...

References

External links

Widowed Parent's Allowance
Social security in the United Kingdom Widowhood in the United Kingdom {{death-stub