Bereavement benefits are paid to a surviving spouse or civil partner; they can only be paid to those in legal unions. Therefore, they cannot be paid in respect of cohabitees, either with or without children. We are currently considering how to proceed following the recent Supreme Court judgement which ruled it incompatible with ECHR principles to provide that cohabitees with children are not entitled to Widowed Parent\u2019s Allowance.<\/p>
<\/p>
Cohabitees do have access to income-related benefits. They may also qualify for help with funeral costs from the Social Fund and may of course choose to provide security for their families by way of private pension or life insurance arrangements.<\/p>
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