FUNERAL AND BEREAVEMENT BENEFITS

A member of our supportive team will be happy to listen to your experience, answer any questions you may have about bereavement or bereavement support and share helpful information about our services and other appropriate organisations that you might wish to contact. Our helpline is open from 9am-9pm, Monday to Friday and although we endeavour to personally answer every call there may be times when the phones are busy, in which case you will hear an answerphone message. Please don’t be put off by this – simply leave your contact details and tell us the best time for us to call you and we will ring you back as soon as possible – at the latest on the next working day.

Professional Help staff, who are delivering the Brodies Care service, are all trained in counselling skills and bereavement care and will be able to listen and support you. Our Associate Counsellors are highly qualified and professional and have successfully completed our rigorous application process. All our people are friendly, reassuring and supportive as well as being vetted and fully insured, giving you extra peace of mind should you wish to access our services.

Brodies Care is a free to access helpline, which you can call as often as you need to. We normally limit calls to around one hour in duration. We can organise for a counsellor to call you back at a convenient time. Our email service offers the opportunity to communicate with a counsellor either on a one-off or ongoing basis. If you are looking for longer term counselling support, we can help you find appropriate local bereavement organisations, or counselling may be funded by your funeral director – please contact us for details. We also have a large team of bereavement counsellors across the UK that you can access on a private, fee-paying basis. For information about our counselling services and fees, please go to https://www.professionalhelp.org.uk/our-services/counselling/

The Brodies Care helpline and email services are free of charge to clients of Brodies Funeral Services. Longer term bereavement counselling on a one to one basis may incur a charge – please ask for details. We will always endeavour to find a free alternative to paying for counselling wherever possible.

All of our staff and Associate Counsellors work to Professional Help’s policies and procedures and also the BACP Ethical Framework and National Counselling Society Code of Ethics, which binds them to hold everything you say in confidence unless they feel there is a risk to your life or the lives of others. All our Associate Counsellors undertake ongoing CPD training and are professionally supervised – they may talk to their supervisor about your experience, but they will never share information which may identify you. All our policies, including confidentiality, are available on request.

You can expect your counsellor to be warm and welcoming and they will respect you as an individual for whom counselling is a support mechanism to help you cope with your grief and come to terms with your loss. They will keep appointments and see you regularly. Your counsellor won’t be able to take the pain of your bereavement away, but they will help you to understand your experience of grief, develop self-care and coping strategies and deal with the challenges you may be facing.

If you are using our longer-term counselling services, we ask that you keep your appointments (apart from in emergencies) or cancel in good time so we can make the best use of our counsellors. At the end of your support we would appreciate it if you can complete an evaluation survey (which can be completed over the telephone, online or on paper) which helps us to continue to develop and improve our services.

One-to-one counselling with one of our carefully selected Associate Counsellors usually takes place either at the counsellor’s premises or at another agreed venue. Due to the current Coronavirus restrictions, it may not be possible to arrange a face to face meeting. Both telephone and webcam counselling can be arranged and are highly flexible – you and the counsellor work together to choose the time which suits your needs. One to one sessions normally last between 50 minutes and one hour.

It is the new payment that replaces the UK Government's Funeral Expense Payment in Scotland as of 16th September 2019. The payment is available to people in Scotland that require support to meet the costs of a funeral. The Funeral Support Payment is for people who are on certain benefits or tax credits.

Telephone - call freephone on 0800 182 2222 to complete the application over the phone Paper - call freephone 0800 182 2222 to request a paper application Online - go to mygov.scot/funeral-support-payment and complete the online application. There are two forms, one for a child/young person and one for an adult.

The Claimant has the nearest relationship to the person who died. Please see the hierarchy list used from the Burial and Cremation (Scotland) Act 2016. The Claimant is responsible for the payment of the funeral The Claimant lives in Scotland The deceased lived in the UK Th funeral takes place in the UK The Claimant is on at least one of the following qualifying benefits: Universal Credit (UC)​ Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance Income related Employment and Support Allowance Pension Credit Housing Benefit Child Tax Credit (CTC) Working Tax Credit (disability or severe disability element)​ An ​​eligibility checker is at the beginning of the online form and on page two of the paper application.

The Funeral Support Payment is a PART PAYMENT and will cover some, not all, of the funeral costs. If eligible, the amount will depend on the amount claimed and what funds were left by the deceased. The burial and cremation costs (these vary throughout the country, please see mygov.scot/burial-cremation-costs-scotland A maximum of £1178.75 will be put towards the Funeral Director and any other expenses Or £120 if the deceased had a funeral plan in place​ Some travel, document and medical costs may also be covered​

Only one person per funeral should apply and only one payment will be made.

Before applying, the claimant should register the death and give Brodies the consent to speak with Social Security Scotland. This will minimise the time taken to process the application. Claims can be made when the person who the funeral is for has died and up to six months after the date of the funeral.

Invoices/receipts for the items being claimed. A full funeral account can be made available from Brodies. The claimant can be sent a pre-paid envelope to return the documents to Social Security Scotland.

The claimant should receive a decision within 10 working days upon SSS's receipt of a completed application form and all supporting evidence.

The funds will be paid directly into the claimant's chosen financial account or direct to the funeral director.

The funds do not need to be paid back by the claimant. If it is discovered the deceased left financial assets, the SSS will recover the payment through the estate.

No, the payment does not affect any other benefits or tax credits.

Bereavement Support Payment provides financial support to people for a period after the death of a husband, wife or civil partner. The payment is provided through the Department of Work and Pensions, the UK Government.

If the claimant lives in England, Scotland or Wales: Telephone - call freephone on 0800 731 0469 to complete the application over the phone Paper - Download and print a Bereavement Support Pack from here with full guidance notes from here

A claimant may be entitled to the Bereavement Support Payment if their husband, wife or civil partner died on or after 6th April 2017. The claimant could be eligible if their deceased partner:​​ Paid National Insurance contributions for at least 25 weeks Died because of an accident at work or a disease caused by work When the deceased died, the claimant must have been: Under State Pension age Living in the UK A claim cannot be made from prison.

There are two rates of payment, both involving a 'first payment' and then up to 18 monthly payments.​ Higher Rate ​ First payment £3500​ Monthly payment £350 Lower Rate First payment £2500​ Monthly payment £100 If the claimant gets or is entitled to Child Benefit, they will get the higher rate. If the claimant does not get Child Benefit, they will get the lower rate unless the claimant was pregnant when their husband or civil partner died.

The claim must be made within 3 months of the death to get the full amount. The claimant can claim unto 21 months after but the payments will be less.

The payments will be paid into the claimants Bank or Building Society Account.

Bereavement Support Payment will not affect the claimant's benefits for a year after the first payment. After this year, any payment left over could affect future benefit eligibility. The claimant must tell the relevant benefits office when the Bereavement Support Payment has started.