Bereavement Support Payment Cohabiting Partner

For years, Bereavement Support Payment was available to married couples and civil partners, but not to the millions of couples who lived together without formalising their relationship. If your partner died and you were living together, the law treated you as a stranger for this purpose — regardless of how long you had been together, whether you had children, or whether you shared finances. That changed in February 2023, but the new rules come with specific conditions that are worth understanding clearly before you apply.

What Changed in February 2023

The Supreme Court ruled in 2023 that the exclusion of cohabiting partners from Bereavement Support Payment was incompatible with human rights law — specifically in cases where the couple had dependent children. The government amended the regulations, and from 9 February 2023, cohabiting partners with dependent children can qualify for BSP.

This is a meaningful expansion, but it is not an unconditional one. The rules for cohabiting partners are narrower than for married couples or civil partners, and understanding exactly what qualifies matters enormously when you are filling out the claim form.

Who Now Qualifies as a Cohabiting Partner

To claim BSP as a cohabiting partner, you must meet all of the following at the time of death:

You were living together as a couple. This means a genuine cohabiting relationship — sharing a home, living as partners — not simply sharing accommodation as flatmates or housemates. The DWP may ask for evidence of the relationship (see below).

You have a dependent child, which means either:

• You or the deceased was receiving Child Benefit for a child, OR
• You were pregnant at the time of the deceased's death

This is the key restriction. Cohabiting partners without children are not eligible for BSP under the current rules. The expansion applies specifically to families where children are present.

The deceased paid at least 25 weeks of National Insurance contributions, or died as a result of an industrial accident or disease.

If you are unsure about the NI condition, the DWP checks this as part of the claim — you do not need to verify it yourself before applying.

Cohabiting Partners Without Children

If you were cohabiting but had no dependent children, BSP is not available to you. This is a hard boundary in the current rules, not a grey area. However, there are other forms of financial support worth pursuing:

• Funeral Support Payment from Social Security Scotland: if you are on a qualifying benefit, this covers £1,327.75 flat rate plus burial or cremation costs, regardless of your relationship status with the deceased.
• Scottish Welfare Fund crisis grants: if you are in immediate financial difficulty, your local council can provide emergency funds — no repayment required, decision typically by the next working day.
• Occupational pension survivor benefits: if the deceased had a workplace pension such as the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), cohabiting partners may qualify as nominated beneficiaries if certain conditions are met (see below).
• Section 29 claim: if there was no will, a cohabiting partner without children can still apply to court under Section 29 of the Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006 to claim from the estate — but the deadline is strict.

The Scotland Survivor Benefits Guide covers all the payments available to survivors in Scotland — including those available to cohabiting partners without children — and the deadlines that apply to each.

The Payment Amounts

Because you have a dependent child, you qualify for the Higher Rate of Bereavement Support Payment:

• Lump sum: £3,500
• Monthly payments: £350/month for up to 18 months

This is the same rate available to married or civil partnered survivors with dependent children. The relationship status distinction only affects eligibility, not the payment amount once you qualify.

For comparison, the Standard Rate (for survivors without children) is a £2,500 lump sum and £100/month — but that rate is not available to childless cohabiting partners under the current rules.

How to Claim: The BB1 Form

BSP is administered by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) — not Social Security Scotland. This is a UK-wide benefit, and the claim process is the same across Scotland, England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

Form BB1 is the claim form. You can download it from GOV.UK or request a copy from your local Jobcentre Plus. You can also make an initial claim by phone through the Bereavement Service helpline, which can process claims over the phone and then send you the form to sign.

The deadline is the most important thing to get right:

• Claim within 3 months of the date of death: payments are backdated to the date of death. You receive the full lump sum and monthly payments from month one.
• Claim between 3 months and 21 months: you receive payments from the date your claim is made, not from the date of death. You will lose the early months.
• Claim after 21 months: the claim is refused. There is no discretion here and no extension.

If you are uncertain whether you qualify, claim anyway before the 3-month point. A refused claim costs nothing; a missed deadline costs everything.

Proving the Cohabiting Relationship

The DWP may request evidence that you were genuinely cohabiting as a couple. Being proactive with this documentation avoids delays to the lump sum. Useful evidence includes:

• Letters addressed to both of you at the same address
• Joint bank account statements
• Joint tenancy or mortgage agreement
• Utility bills showing both names or the same address
• Evidence of shared financial responsibilities

You do not need all of these — but having a few items ready when you submit the claim will help if the DWP queries the relationship. Provide what you have rather than waiting until you have gathered everything.

BSP and LGPS Survivor Benefits — Separate Applications

If the deceased was a member of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) or another occupational pension, cohabiting partners may qualify for a survivor's pension. The LGPS conditions for cohabiting partners are stricter than the BSP rules:

• You must have been legally free to marry (i.e., neither party was already married to someone else)
• You must have been cohabiting continuously for at least 2 years before the date of death
• You must have been financially interdependent

BSP and LGPS survivor benefits are entirely separate applications to entirely separate organisations. Qualifying for one does not guarantee qualifying for the other. Check with the pension scheme administrator directly — schemes must be notified promptly as late notification can affect survivor benefit calculations.

BSP Is Separate from Inheritance Rights

Receiving BSP as a cohabiting partner does not give you any rights to the deceased's estate. These are completely separate legal areas.

If the deceased died with a valid will, the estate is distributed according to its terms. If they died without a will, Scottish intestacy law does not automatically include cohabiting partners — regardless of how long you lived together or whether you have children together. The only route to the estate in that situation is a court application under Section 29 of the Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006.

The Section 29 deadline has historically been 6 months from the date of death. The Trusts and Succession (Scotland) Act 2024 proposes extending this to 12 months, but as of mid-2026, the secondary legislation bringing this into force had not yet been enacted. Do not assume you have 12 months. Contact a Scottish family law solicitor urgently if there is no will and you were cohabiting.

Understanding which payments you are entitled to — and the deadlines for each — is the most important task in the weeks after a bereavement. The Scotland Survivor Benefits Guide covers BSP, Funeral Support Payment, council tax exemptions, Confirmation, and the rights of cohabiting partners in Scotland in full detail.

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