Widowed Parent's Allowance is a benefit under the

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Social Security system Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifical ...

Entitlement

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

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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. A number of countries operate different versions o ...

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 benefit A means test is a determination of whether an individual or family is eligible for government assistance or welfare, based upon whether the individual or family possesses the means to do without that help. Canada In Canada, means tests are use ...

s. 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 fami ...

contributions paid by the deceased. It could be affected by the

benefit cap The benefit cap is a British Coalition government policy that limits the amount in state benefits that an individual household can claim per year. The benefit cap was introduced in 2013 at £26,000 per year (£500 per week) which was the averag ...

. 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 of Work and Pensions , type = Department , seal = , logo = Department for Work and Pensions logo.svg , logo_width = 166px , formed = , preceding1 = , jurisdiction = Government of the United Kingdom , headquarters = Caxton House7th Floor6–12 Tothill Stree ...

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.

References

External links

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