Raise Bereavement Support Payment and extend beyond 18 months
The Parliament petitions site records 108,757 signatures for this petition, which closed on 8 July 2026. The Government responded on 4 February 2026.
The petition
The petition's creator is not named in the Petitions site's published record. Quoted in full from the UK Parliament petitions site.
Raise Bereavement Support Payment and extend beyond 18 months
Reform Bereavement Support Payment so families with and without dependent children receive help beyond 18 months, with annual uprating to reflect cost of living.
BSP ends after 18 months and is not uprated, which can leave widowed families in financial hardship for years. I lost my husband in May 2025, gave up my career to care for him, and now earn less than 25% of our previous income while raising two young children. Previous Widowed Parent’s Allowance lasted until Child Benefit ended, offering stability. We feel that BSP ignores long-term income loss and emotional strain.
The Government's response
The Government published its response on 4 February 2026; the petitions site lists the Department for Work and Pensions as responsible. Its summary:
Bereavement Support Payment provides valuable short-term help after a death. While we are not able to increase BSP at this time, longer-term support is available from other social security benefits.
The opening 357 words of the 530-word response:
The Government recognises the profound emotional and financial impact that losing a spouse, civil partner, or cohabiting partner with dependent children can have on families. We are grateful to the petitioner for sharing their experience, and we understand the challenges bereaved families can face during an already extremely difficult time.
Bereavement Support Payment (BSP) is designed to provide short‑term financial support to help with the immediate additional costs associated with a death. It consists of an initial lump sum followed by 18 monthly payments, with higher rates paid to those with dependent children. BSP is not taxed, does not count towards the benefit cap, and is paid in addition to any income‑related benefits the bereaved may be entitled to.
The petition asks the Government to extend BSP beyond 18 months for all families, and to uprate its value annually in line with the cost of living. BSP is not intended as an ongoing income‑replacement benefit, nor is it designed to match the duration of a family’s grief. The 18‑month duration reflects the policy intent to provide support during the acute period following a bereavement, when people may face sudden costs or short‑term disruption. Longer‑term financial support is instead available through income‑replacement benefits such as Universal Credit, which are usually uprated annually in line with inflation and designed to provide continuing support with everyday living costs.
We also recognise the comparison made in the petition to the previous Widowed Parent’s Allowance (WPA), which could be paid until Child Benefit ended. WPA formed part of a complex system of bereavement benefits which the previous Government reformed in 2017 to create a single, simpler, and more modern benefit. BSP was introduced to ensure a clearer, fairer, and more consistent approach across households.
On eligibility, BSP is currently available to surviving spouses and civil partners, and to cohabiting partners with dependent children. In 2023 the Government changed the law to extend eligibility to cohabitees with children following court judgments that found the previous rules discriminated against children on the basis of their parents’ marital status. This extension focused on families with children, to ensure they get the financial support they need.
Read the full response on the petitions site.
Where the signatures came from
Signatures came from 650 constituencies. Measured against each constituency's electorate at the 2024 general election, the most came from Redditch, with 26.0 signatures per 1,000 electors (1,845 in all).
108,069 of the signatures were from the UK and 688 from elsewhere, by the location signers gave.
| Constituency | Signatures | Electorate, July 2024 | Per 1,000 electors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Redditch | 1,845 | 71,042 | 26.0 |
| Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy | 1,665 | 71,845 | 23.2 |
| Glenrothes and Mid Fife | 1,353 | 70,655 | 19.1 |
| West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine | 1,063 | 72,994 | 14.6 |
| Colne Valley | 984 | 72,638 | 13.5 |
| Gordon and Buchan | 863 | 69,605 | 12.4 |
| Rutherglen | 818 | 72,674 | 11.3 |
| Dunfermline and Dollar | 764 | 72,824 | 10.5 |
| Chester South and Eddisbury | 759 | 74,284 | 10.2 |
| Huddersfield | 683 | 77,795 | 8.8 |
| Region | Signatures |
|---|---|
| Scotland | 17,762 |
| South East | 13,519 |
| East of England | 11,054 |
| West Midlands | 10,665 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 10,136 |
| North West | 9,713 |
| South West | 8,247 |
| Wales | 7,227 |
| East Midlands | 6,228 |
| London | 6,156 |
| North East | 4,257 |
| Northern Ireland | 2,657 |
Source and receipt
- https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/752501.jsonUK Parliament Petitions API · read 2026-10-15 · SHA-256
d40dd564252b9a92… - The petition on petition.parliament.uk
The petition's words are its creator's and the response is the Government's; this site quotes both and gives no view on either. Signature counts can still change while a petition is open. To report an error, send a correction request.