Standard Bereavement Grant

Rules

To qualify for a Bereavement Grant:

• The deceased person must have died on or after 2 February 1999
• The applicant must be an insured person or the spouse, civil partner or dependent child/children of an insured person. (This includes Class A, Civil and Public servants (Class B and Class D insurance), self-employed people (Class S) and voluntary contributors.)
• The deceased must either have a set number of contributions paid over a specified time period (see 'How to qualify using your social insurance record'), or have been getting one of a number of specified contributory social welfare payments or aged between 16 and 22 and getting Disability Allowance.

How to qualify using your social insurance record

To qualify for the Bereavement Grant based on your social insurance contributions, you must have the following:

• At least 156 weeks paid PRSI contributions since you began insurable employment

or

• At least 26 weeks paid PRSI since you began insurable employment (see Note below)

Note:

If you have at least 26 weeks paid PRSI contributions since you began insurable employment, you must also have:

• 39 weeks paid or credited PRSI contributions in the relevant tax year

or

• A yearly average of 39 weeks paid or credited over the 3 or 5 tax years before the relevant tax year

or

• A yearly average of 26 weeks paid or credited PRSI contributions between 1979 (or starting work if later) and the end of the tax year before the person died or reached pension age, (age 66 at present)

or

• A yearly average of 26 weeks paid PRSI or credited contributions between 1 October 1970 (or since starting work if later) and the end of the tax year before the person died or reached pension age (age 66 at present)