Glossary · UK
What is Widowed Parent's Allowance?
A benefit paid to some widowed parents whose spouse or civil partner died before 6 April 2017, replaced for later deaths by Bereavement Support Payment.
Full Definition
Widowed Parent's Allowance was a weekly benefit paid to a surviving spouse or civil partner who was pregnant, or responsible for at least one dependent child, when their partner died, provided the deceased had paid enough National Insurance contributions or died as a result of their job. It could continue to be paid for as long as the claimant remained entitled to Child Benefit for a qualifying child, meaning payments in some cases lasted many years, and the amount depended on the deceased's National Insurance record in a similar way to the old Basic State Pension. Widowed Parent's Allowance was closed to new claims for deaths occurring on or after 6 April 2017, when it was replaced by Bereavement Support Payment -- a simpler benefit paid as an initial lump sum followed by up to 18 fixed monthly instalments, rather than an open-ended weekly award. People who were already receiving Widowed Parent's Allowance before that date, because their partner died earlier, generally continue to receive it under the old rules until their youngest qualifying child stops being eligible for Child Benefit. Widowed Parent's Allowance counts as taxable income and can affect entitlement to means-tested benefits such as Universal Credit, unlike Bereavement Support Payment, which is tax-free and disregarded for most means-tested benefit calculations.