How to Stop the State Pension and Benefits After a Death

When someone dies, their state pension and any benefits they were receiving must be stopped immediately. Payments made after the date of death are overpayments that the estate will be required to repay. Acting quickly reduces the risk of overpayments building up. This guide explains what to cancel, who to contact, and what surviving spouses may be entitled to receive.

The Urgency: Why Speed Matters

State pension is paid weekly in arrears. This means the DWP pays at the end of each week for the week just passed. If the death is not reported quickly, payments can continue for several weeks before being stopped, and every payment made after the date of death must be repaid.

Aim to notify the DWP within a few days of the death. This is one of the most time-sensitive tasks in the first week.

Tell Us Once

If Tell Us Once was used when registering the death, the DWP will have been notified automatically. Tell Us Once is offered by most register offices at the point of registration and covers a wide range of government departments including the DWP and local council.

Even if Tell Us Once was used, it is worth following up with the DWP directly to confirm that payments have been stopped and to ask about any overpayment position.

If Tell Us Once Was Not Used

Contact the DWP Bereavement Service directly: 0800 731 0469 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm). This is a free call. The DWP can notify multiple benefits in a single call, which is more efficient than contacting each benefit separately.

Have the following ready when you call:

• The deceased's National Insurance number
• The date of death
• The deceased's date of birth and address
• Your name and relationship to the deceased
• Details of any benefits you know they were receiving

Benefits to Cancel

The DWP handles most central government benefits, but some must be notified separately:

Benefit	Who to notify
State pension	DWP (via Tell Us Once or bereavement line)
Pension credit	DWP
Universal credit	DWP
Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)	DWP
Personal Independence Payment (PIP)	DWP
Disability Living Allowance (DLA)	DWP
Housing benefit	Local council (notify separately)
Council tax support/reduction	Local council (notify separately)
Attendance allowance	DWP

The local council must be contacted separately for housing benefit and council tax support, even if Tell Us Once was used for central government benefits.

Dealing With Overpayments

An overpayment occurs when the DWP or a local council continues to pay a benefit after the date of death. These payments must be returned, and they are treated as a debt of the estate. This means they are paid from estate funds before any distribution to beneficiaries.

The DWP will write to the executor (or the next of kin) to confirm the overpayment and request repayment. Do not ignore these letters. The overpayment is a liability that must appear in the estate accounts.

In practice, where payments were made directly into a bank account and the bank has frozen the account on notification of death, the DWP may be able to recover overpayments directly from the bank. If funds have already been withdrawn, the position is more complicated.

What the Surviving Spouse May Be Entitled To

Losing a spouse can affect their own benefit entitlements, and there may be payments the surviving spouse can claim. The main ones are:

Bereavement Support Payment (BSP)

BSP replaced the old bereavement allowance and widow's payment in 2017. It is available to surviving spouses or civil partners who are under state pension age when their partner dies, where the deceased had paid enough National Insurance contributions.

BSP is paid in two parts: a lump sum followed by up to 18 monthly payments. The amount depends on whether the survivor has dependent children. Claims must be made within 3 months of the death to receive the full amount, and no later than 21 months after the death.

Inherited State Pension

Surviving spouses and civil partners may be able to inherit part of the deceased's state pension, depending on when each person reached state pension age and when they married or formed a civil partnership. The rules differ between the old (pre-2016) and new (post-April 2016) state pension systems.

Under the new state pension, the amount that can be inherited is more limited than under the old system. The DWP will write to the surviving spouse setting out what they will receive.

Older Bereavement Benefits (Pre-2017)

For deaths before 6 April 2017, different rules applied. Widow's pension and bereavement allowance were available to surviving spouses in certain circumstances. If dealing with an older estate or a claim relating to a death before 2017, contact the DWP directly to establish what may be available.

Step-by-Step: What Executors Should Do

1. Days 1 to 3: Confirm whether Tell Us Once was used when registering the death. If not, call the DWP bereavement line immediately.
2. Within the first week: Contact the local council to notify them of the death and cancel any housing benefit or council tax support.
3. Within two weeks: Request written confirmation from the DWP that all benefits have been cancelled and ask for details of any overpayment.
4. Before distributing the estate: Confirm that any overpayment debt has been repaid and record it in the estate accounts.
5. Advise the surviving spouse: Ensure they are aware of Bereavement Support Payment and that they need to claim it within three months to receive the maximum amount.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Assuming Tell Us Once covers everything: It notifies the DWP, but not the local council, and does not resolve overpayments automatically.
• Delaying notification: Every week of delay can result in another week of overpayment that the estate must repay.
• Forgetting Bereavement Support Payment: This is a time-sensitive claim. If the surviving spouse is under state pension age, they need to claim within three months for the full entitlement.
• Not recording overpayments in the estate accounts: Any repayment to the DWP is a debt of the estate and must appear in the accounts before beneficiaries receive anything.