Bereavement Benefit discriminates against the Disabled

Pas66_2

My wife recently died, August 2007, aged 38. She was registered disabled for the last 19 years and due to her condition, she was unable to work.

I claimed for the one-off payment (£2000) Bereavement Benefit and this was rejected on the grounds that she had not paid any National Insurance Contributions for the given period.

Prior to us getting maried in 2004 she received normal benefits, such as Income Support and Disability Living Allowance. After getting married, the Income support was withdrawn as the DWP stated that I earnt to much and could support her.

I have also been told tht I am not eligible for the Bereavement Allowance as I am aged under 45.

The Government, HMRC and DWP all state that they adhere to the Disability Discrimination Act, but there rules basically say that a Disabled Person is a drain on resources and their life was worth nothing but memories when they die.

Has anyone else suffered this problem or does anyone have a solution?

DavidLaGuardia

Sincere sympathy for your loss.

I guess the answer lies in the personal circumstances you have described. The harsh logic here is that the bereavement benefit is historically geared for a financial loss on the bereaved. If your wife was a non earning and a pure dependant, and you are an earner who is not a pensioner, then the hardship of financial loss is not applicable

montycat_2

Firstly ,I send my condolences on your Wife's death.

Do you have children still dependant on you ?If you do ,you may get Widowed parent's allowance but ,this is also dependent on NI contributions.

The Allowance is there to replace lost income .My Husband died leaving me with 3 young children and ,I get WPA to replace his income .It is an allowance and ,not a benefit .
If I did not have the children ,I too would be without a Bereavement allowance .
IMO it is not discriminatory against disabled people only but also against anyone who loses a spouse at a young age .

Pas66_2

Many thanks for both your comments.

We didn't have any children.