Bereavement Benefits (Hansard, 6 April 2001)

§ Mr. Rooker

Bereavement Benefits will concentrate the help available where and when it is needed most: on immediate needs and on families with children. Men who are widowed on or after 9 April 2001 will be able to claim Bereavement Benefits. But existing widowed fathers, with children in full-time education whose wives died before that date, are also eligible to claim the new Widowed Parent's Allowance. Invitations to make a claim have been sent to over 13,000 men whose Child Benefit records indicate may be eligible.

We have publicised the new benefits through relevant leaflets, which are distributed to outlets such as local offices, advisory organisations and doctors' surgeries, and can be found on the internet at www.dss.gov.uk. Advertorials in magazine titles which men are likely to read are due to appear in June.

We have however identified an error in the legislation that will affect a small number of widowers who will inherit both SERPS and a contracted-out pension from their late wives. In line with normal practice the SERPS payment should be reduced to take account of a contracted-out pension paid by a private pension scheme. This is technically known as a contracted-out deduction, and is made because National Insurance rebates would have been received instead of National Insurance contributions being paid for a SERPS pension. The intention was to treat all widows and widowers equally, but for this group of widowers the contracted-out deduction cannot be made until the legislation is corrected.

We will correct the legislation at the first available opportunity so as to treat widows and widowers equally. Those affected will be informed from the outset of this error and that it is likely to be corrected by future legislation. They will also be informed that they will not be asked to repay the extra amounts.