Bereavement Benefits
Many countries offer what are known as bereavement benefits for widows or widowers. Often, these benefits amount to all or a portion of the deceased person's guaranteed pension or retirement income. In the U.K., you are entitled to a bereavement payment of £2,000, which has to be claimed within 12 months of the death of your spouse. Bereavement allowance is paid if you do not have dependent children; if you do, the state provides a Widowed Parent's Allowance. Elsewhere, bereavement benefits can be offered by companies to employees, as is the trend in India. For Indian families living below the poverty line, the government grants Rs. 10,000 per family when the breadwinner dies.
