Widowed Parent's Allowance Contents Entitlement Amount of benefit Proposed changes See also References Navigation menuWidowed Parent's Allowance"Money State benefits Widowed parents allowance – a vital lifeline in danger of being cut"
Pensions and benefits in the United KingdomWidowhood
Widowed Mother's Allowancesex discriminationChild Benefitliving together as a married couplemeans-tested benefitsNational Insurancebenefit capChild BenefitPensions Bill 2012Department of Work and PensionsWidowed Parent's Allowance
Widowed Parent's Allowance is a benefit under the United Kingdom Social Security system.
Contents
1 Entitlement
2 Amount of benefit
3 Proposed changes
4 See also
5 References
Entitlement
It replaced Widowed Mother's Allowance in 2001 as part of the process of removing sex discrimination 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 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 contributions paid by the deceased. It could be affected by the benefit cap. It continues while Child Benefit 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.[1] The Department of Work and Pensions 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.
See also
Widowed Parent's Allowance
References
^ "Money State benefits Widowed parents allowance – a vital lifeline in danger of being cut". The Observer. 14 July 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2014..mw-parser-output cite.citationfont-style:inherit.mw-parser-output .citation qquotes:"""""""'""'".mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registrationcolor:#555.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration spanborder-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output code.cs1-codecolor:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-errordisplay:none;font-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-errorfont-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-maintdisplay:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-formatfont-size:95%.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-leftpadding-left:0.2em.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-rightpadding-right:0.2em