We are pleased to advise that the Cabinet Secretary for Social Security, Ms Somerville MSP, has announced that Social Security Scotland will commence delivery of the Funeral Support Payment from 8 am on Monday 16 September 2019.
The Funeral Support Payment is a one off payment to help people on low income benefits with a contribution towards the cost of a funeral and replaces the Department for Work and Pension’s Funeral Expenses Payment in Scotland. Some improvements, in comparison to the current payment, have been introduced. These include:
- introducing a new ‘nearest relative’ eligibility test, along with a more sensitive assessment to determine who is responsible for the funeral cost payments. This will widen eligibility for our payment by around 40%, to help reach an estimated 5,000 people each year.
- speeding up our processing times for completed applications, once all the required evidence has been received.
- annually reviewing and uprating the flat rate element to take account of inflation
Please note: Applications for Funeral Support Payment are accepted from the date of death, up until six months after the funeral has taken place. This means that anyone who meets the eligibility for the Funeral Support Payment and has already paid for a funeral within the last 6 months will be able to apply retrospectively, as long as they haven’t already received a Funeral Expenses Payment from DWP.
Related documents can be found on the Social Security website: www.socialsecurity.gov.scot/what-we-do/stakeholder-resources/funeral-support-payment.
A copy of the accompanying news release to the Cabinet Secretary’s announcement is also held at https://www.gov.scot/news/new-funeral-benefit-to-launch/.