Make the Call Service Northern Ireland: Free Benefits Check After Bereavement
Make the Call Service Northern Ireland: Free Benefits Check After Bereavement
After your partner dies, your entire financial situation changes overnight. You might have gone from a dual income to a single income. Benefits that were calculated based on two people now need recalculating. Entitlements you never qualified for before might now be available. The Make the Call service exists specifically to untangle this — and it's free.
What Is Make the Call?
Make the Call is a Northern Ireland-specific service that provides a comprehensive, holistic benefits assessment. It's not limited to one type of benefit or one government department — the advisors assess your entire financial picture and identify every benefit, grant, and support you're entitled to.
Call 0800 232 1271 (freephone, Monday to Friday).
The service is run by the Department for Communities, but its scope goes beyond DfC benefits. Advisors can identify entitlements across multiple agencies, including Housing Benefit, rate relief, health-related benefits, energy assistance, and local community support.
Why Call Make the Call After a Bereavement?
Most people in Northern Ireland are aware of the Bereavement Support Payment. Fewer know about the full range of support available after a partner's death:
- Pension Credit — If you're over State Pension age and your household income has dropped, you may now qualify
- Housing Benefit or Universal Credit housing element — Your eligibility may change with a single income
- Rate relief from LPS — Including Lone Pensioner Allowance (20% reduction) or low-income rate relief
- Warm Home Discount or energy efficiency grants — Help with heating costs
- Blue Badge — If the deceased was the primary driver and you have mobility issues
- Free prescriptions, dental care, and eye tests — Based on income
- School uniform grants and free school meals — If you have dependent children
- Discretionary support — Crisis payments for immediate needs
A single call to Make the Call can uncover hundreds or even thousands of pounds in annual entitlements you didn't know you qualified for.
What Happens During the Call?
The advisor will ask about your household situation: income, housing, health conditions, dependents, existing benefits. It takes about 20-30 minutes. They're not testing you or trying to catch you out — they're trying to find everything you're entitled to.
At the end of the assessment, you'll receive a summary of your entitlements and guidance on how to apply for each one. The advisor can often start some applications during the call itself.
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Accessibility Options
Make the Call is accessible for people who can't use a standard voice call:
- Text: Send ADVICE to 07984 405248
- Online form: Complete the form on nidirect.gov.uk requesting a callback
- BSL/ISL: British Sign Language and Irish Sign Language video relay services are available
- Translation services available for non-English speakers
If you have a hearing impairment, speech difficulty, or language barrier, the service will arrange alternative communication methods.
When to Call
Call Make the Call within the first month of bereavement — ideally after you've already contacted the DfC Bereavement Service (0800 085 2463) and started your BSP claim. The Bereavement Service handles the immediate benefit claims; Make the Call handles the broader financial assessment.
Don't wait until you're in crisis. The sooner you call, the sooner benefits start flowing — and the less likely you are to fall into debt while adjusting to a single income.
Make the Call vs the Bereavement Service
These are different services with different purposes:
DfC Bereavement Service (0800 085 2463): Reports the death, stops the deceased's benefits, starts your BSP and funeral expense claims. This is the first call you make.
Make the Call (0800 232 1271): Comprehensive benefits check for the surviving household. Covers everything the Bereavement Service doesn't — rate relief, energy grants, health benefits, disability support, education grants.
Both calls are free. Both are essential. Together they cover the full spectrum of financial support available after a death in Northern Ireland.
The Northern Ireland Survivor Benefits Navigator includes the complete claiming sequence, from the Bereavement Service through Make the Call, with a benefits eligibility matrix that maps your specific circumstances to every available support.
Get Your Free Northern Ireland — Survivor Benefits Checklist
Download the Northern Ireland — Survivor Benefits Checklist — a printable guide with checklists, scripts, and action plans you can start using today.