End of life and bereavement support

You may wish to read the Macmillan Cancer Support booklet, After someone dies: coping with bereavement.

Tell Us Once

This service lets you report a death to most government organisations in one go. When you register a death with the registrar they will explain the Tell Us Once service. They will either:

• complete the Tell Us Once service with you
• give you a unique reference number so you can use the service yourself online or by phone.

More details can be found on the gov.uk ‘Tell Us Once‘ website.

Settld

Settld is a free service and users fill in one online form to close, freeze and transfer all the financial, digital and household accounts of a loved one who has died. Settld will then contact all companies to inform them of the recent death. It is possible to contact over 750 organisations through Settld including banks, building societies, pension and investment providers, energy and utility companies, social media platforms, TV and broadband companies etc.

Progress can then be tracked via the secure online platform on the Settld platform.

For more information please visit the Settld website and read the Settld information sheet.

Bereavement Support Payment

You may be eligible for financial support following the death of a spouse or partner; contact our Macmillan Welfare and Benefits Adviser, Phil Bremner for more information.

Bereavement Support Payment is money that you may be entitled to when your spouse or civil partner dies. This benefit isn’t means-tested, so you can make a claim regardless of your income, savings or whether you’re in work.

There are certain conditions but the main one being that you must be under State Pension Age when your spouse or partner dies (this is currently aged 66).

There are two different rates of Bereavement Support Payment:

• If you are not responsible for a child under the age of 20 you could get £2,500 followed by a further 18 payments of £100 per month.
• If you’re responsible for a child under the age of 20, you could get £3,500 followed by a further 18 payments of £350 per month. Following a recent court case, regulations are in the process of being amended which mean that you don’t have to be married or civil partners to be able to claim this if you have dependent children together.

These payments aren’t taxable and are disregarded when calculating your entitlement to means-tested benefits.

Find out more about Bereavement Support Payment from gov.uk and other bereavement support guidance from Macmillan Cancer Support’s website.

Help with the cost of a funeral (Funeral Expenses Payment)

If you get certain benefits, you might be able to get help to pay for the funeral of a partner, close relative, close friend or child you were responsible for.

Find out more about Funeral Services Payment.

If you live in the Harrogate District or being treated at our hospital and would like further help with any of the above, please call our Benefits Adviser on 01423 557318 or e mail p.bremner@nhs.net.

For practical support with organising a funeral or help with the cost, please click on this link.